(Ottawa) It’s too early to conclude that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is really happening despite trends that are “good news,” the agency’s deputy chief administrator argued Friday. of Public Health Canada (PHAC), the Dr Howard Njoo.
“No, it’s not the end of the pandemic,” he replied immediately at a press briefing when he was called upon to speak, in light of the evolution of the data which even seems encouraging. if the holiday gatherings were just a few weeks ago.
The Dr Njoo believes that “the acute phase of the pandemic” has passed, but believes that the situation is changing and that COVID-19 cannot be considered a closed public health file.
“It’s good news that we see that the serious consequences, perhaps, with the variants that are in circulation at the moment, are less serious than they could have been before, but there are hospitalization and infection rates that are still high,” said the PHAC representative.
He took the opportunity to reiterate Public Health advice, such as obtaining a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine if the time is right according to the recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI ).
The group also published an update on this chapter on Friday. “When booster doses of COVID-19 vaccine are offered, they should be given at the recommended interval of at least 6 months after a previous dose of COVID-19 vaccine or SARSCoV-2 infection (whichever is longer), since a longer delay between exposures to vaccine or infection could stimulate the immune response,” reads the statement released by NACI.
The advisory committee also specifies that bivalent vaccines are “the preferred booster products for all persons 5 years of age and older”. A bivalent vaccine is designed to protect against the original strain of COVID-19, but also subsequent variants.
“We will see what will happen because we don’t know for the future. Treatments, research continue to be important,” added Dr.r Njoo about the possible end of the pandemic.
He concluded his explanation with a metaphor. “At the end of the day, I say no, this is not the end of the pandemic. We must continue as […] it’s too early to, as they say, put away our winter coats and boots,” he said.
