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Ontario expands booster shots to those over 50 in wake of Omicron cases

Hundreds of potential cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant are now under investigation across the province.

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With hundreds of potential cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant now under investigation across the province, Ontario is expanding booster doses of the vaccine to everyone over 50, beginning Dec. 13. Access to boosters will be expanded to include more people by early in the New Year, or sooner.

Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Kieran Moore, announced the expansion Thursday, saying the province had a “narrow window of opportunity” to protect more people with vaccines before Omicron likely becomes dominant in Ontario within a matter of months.

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It took about four months for the highly transmissible Delta variant to replace the Alpha variant earlier this year. Based on how transmissible the newly identified Omicron variant appears to be, Moore said it could become dominant much quicker: in two or three months. Meanwhile, cases of the Delta variant, which is currently the dominant strain in Ontario, are going up.

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“Our goal is to maximally protect all Ontarians with first, second and third doses, given that Delta is our enemy, and I do hope and wish it gives us protection against Omicron.”

Omicron was recently identified by scientists in South Africa and was quickly declared a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, in part because of its high number of mutations. The first two Canadian cases were confirmed in Ottawa over the weekend.

A handful of Omicron cases have been identified in Ontario: four in Ottawa among recent travellers to Nigeria. Some of those Ottawa cases were vaccinated and some were not, Moore said. Hundred more potential cases are under investigation among recently returned travellers to African nations listed as countries of concern for the variant by the federal government.

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“We know a certain proportion will be carrying the virus so our numbers will continue to rise,” Moore explained.

Moore said science had not yet answered the question of how well existing vaccines protected against Omicron. But he said he believed they would continue to offer some protection and maximizing vaccinations across the province with boosters, vaccines for children between five and 11 and first doses to the unvaccinated would prepare the province for the winter ahead and the introduction of Omicron.

Boosters are currently available for people over 70, health care workers, Indigenous adults and family members and people who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, 168 days after they received their second doses.

Beginning Dec. 13, anyone over 50 will also be able to book a booster dose 168 days after their second dose of vaccine. People receiving dialysis are eligible immediately for booster doses due to a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19. And the province is making the single-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine available to people who are not yet vaccinated.

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That booster dose expansion comes as children between five and 11 are being vaccinated, those over 70 are getting boosters and flu shots are still being administered. Moore said the system had the capacity to handle the expansion.

Ottawa Public Health, in a statement, said it had been preparing for an increase in demand and would be allocating more appointments at community clinics in coming weeks. Pharmacies also offer vaccines.

Moore encouraged anyone over 70 now eligible for a booster to get it before the criteria broadened so they could be protected over the holidays and it would be easier to book.

“This is a call to arms. I want over 70s to come forward during the next 10 days. If they get a booster, they will be well protected for the holidays.”

While the United States, Canada and other countries expand third doses to COVID-19 vaccines across their populations, wealthy countries have been criticized for hoarding vaccines at the expense of poorer countries. In some of the African countries where Omicron is spreading quickly, many people have little or no access to vaccines.

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Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and professor at University of Ottawa, said it’s increasingly looking like the COVID-19 vaccines are three-dose vaccines.
Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and professor at University of Ottawa, said it’s increasingly looking like the COVID-19 vaccines are three-dose vaccines. Photo by Tony Caldwell /Postmedia

Still, uOttawa epidemiologist Raywat Deonandan said people should take the third dose when eligible in addition to wealthier countries shipping vaccines to parts of the world with poor access.

“I resist the argument that this is one or the other. We can do both. It is a failure of imagination not to do both.”

Deonandan has called for a global “Manhattan Project” to vaccinate the world and limit the evolution of more dangerous COVID-19 variants. That would include flooding the world with vaccines and prioritizing the most vulnerable.

Countries including Canada must make that happen, he said.

Meanwhile, if vaccines are available, people who are eligible should step up for a third dose, he said, which would not only prevent initial infection in individuals, but also reduce transmission.

“It might give us additional protection against future variants.”

Deonandan, like others, said the COVID-19 vaccines were increasingly looking like three-dose vaccines, meaning the third dose was not a booster, but likely a final dose to offer full protection.

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