(OTTAWA) The chief Canadian public health officer said he was preparing for a “worst case scenario” about the evolution of the COVID-19 virus as cases appear to be on the rise in the fall.
Posted at 14:26
Dr Theresa Tam, appearing before the House of Commons health committee on Tuesday, said Canada’s Public Health Agency is closely monitoring the evolution of Omicron variants, which are the most common sub-variants in the country.
Dr Tam said that at the start of the pandemic, the virus was mutating in all ways because there was no immunity from previous infections or vaccines.
Now, he says, the mutations have been limited as the virus is under pressure to find ways to evade immunity.
Dr Tam said the worst case scenario would be for variants to find a way around the effectiveness of vaccines and monoclonal antibody treatments.
He added that recently there seemed to be a slight increase in the number of people undergoing their booster shots, now that they offer protection against the new strains of the virus.