Manitobans urged to get booster doses ahead of Omicron subvariant-driven wave
Province not broadening eligibility for 4th doses at this time, spokesperson says
Some Canadian provinces are seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases fuelled by more infectious Omicron subvariants, prompting some doctors to call forManitobans to get up to date with their vaccinations, and for the province to open up fourth dose eligibility.
Adrian Gulowaty, a pharmacist and the owner of the Shoppers Drug Mart in Winnipeg's Osborne Village,hosts a vaccine clinic every Saturday. On average,150-200 people come into roll up their sleeves, most of whom are coming in for their second booster.
"There are a lot of people very eager to get their fourth dose. As soon as the government made the announcement, we had all those people in the door to get their vaccine," Gulowaty said.
Manitobans aged 50 and up are eligible for a second booster dose, as well asFirst Nations, Inuit and Mtis people aged 30 and up.
People who are moderately to severely immune compromised who are between the ages of 18 and 49 are also eligible, as are people who live in personal care homes and congregate living settings.
A Manitoba doctor would like to see eligibility for fourth doses of a COVID-19 vaccineexpanded to include all health-care workers and those who work with vulnerable populations.
In the wake of new waves of cases fuelled by the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, Dr. Philippe Lagac-Wiens,a medical microbiologist at St. Boniface Hospital, says a more recent booster shot could help reduce transmission and protect people who are vulnerable to severe illness.
"Why is it that a 45-year-old health-care provider who looks after vulnerable, elderly, immunocompromised patients can't get a fourth dose to protect them against this wave of BA.5 that might be coming?" he said in an interview on Thursday.
"There's definitely room for improvement."
A provincial spokesperson said in an email that the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 have been detected in wastewater samples in Winnipeg, and BA.5 makes up about 10 per cent of samples that are sequenced.
Even so, the province saysmost indicators show a decreasing trend in COVID-19 activity.
Craig Jenne, an associate professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary, says he expects to see criteria for fourth COVID-19 doses loosen in the coming weeks and months as fall approaches.
However, third dose uptake is lagging in a number of provinces, including Manitoba, where only about 43.5 per cent of people eligible have received their booster, according to provincial data. Just over eightper cent of eligible Manitobans have their fourth dose.
The provincial spokesperson says criteria isn't being broadened just yet, but Manitoba Health is working with its partners locally and across the country to ensure they're making the best recommendations.
The booster dose is critical, Jenne says.
"By getting the booster, we remind our immune system what the virus looks like, reactivate those immune cells, bring our protection back up to a maximum level so that if you are exposed to a virus, your immune system starts to win that race. That keeps the infection being quite mild and in many cases even asymptomatic," Jenne said.
Lagace-Wiens says a recent booster can reduce transmission, helping to protect the health-care system, which is at risk of becoming overwhelmed again.
"I think we're all enjoying the freedom that we've developed. We're travelling a lot more. We're enjoying our festivals and our shopping and going out to restaurants," he said.
"But that was a hard-fought battle, and one way we could fall back into that is by not getting vaccinated and therefore allowing downstream transmission to those vulnerable people who will be hospitalized."
With files from Alana Cole
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