Canada’s public health director Theresa Tam warned Thursday of a possible resurgence of COVID-19 later this year and early next.
Theresa Tam said Thursday that the current BA.4 and BA.5 omicron subvariants are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity compared to previous versions, making possible a surge in cases in the coming weeks.
Tam and Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos stressed the importance of staying up-to-date on vaccinations. They noted that 40% of Canadians have not received a booster dose after receiving the first two injections, leaving Canada behind among the G7 countries for all three doses.
“As cases are rising … in some areas of Canada, getting that booster, if you haven’t already, could be very important now, particularly as fall approaches,” Tam said.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization has recommended that agencies make arrangements to offer another round of vaccination to people at high risk of severe COVID-19, regardless of the number of boosters they have received.
Tam said new vaccines against omicron are in development, but have not yet been evaluated by authorities.
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