There is no longer any doubt: an Omicron wave is sweeping over Quebec. The variant now accounts for 80% of infections, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ). It only took Omicron a week to overtake the Delta variant.
“It’s mind-boggling! said the Dr Gaston De Serres, epidemiologist at the INSPQ. I can’t believe that in a few days, we went from 20% to more than 80%. “
The Laboratoire de santé publique du Québec (LSPQ) conducted an investigation into all infections detected on December 14, as requested by the national director of public health, Dr.r Horacio Arruda. Of the 1,947 cases reported that day, 28% were generated by Omicron, screening data show.
In light of these results, the INSPQ wanted to document the progression of the variant in the province in order to “better anticipate the impact of the introduction of this variant on hospitalizations in short-term beds and in intensive care”. To do this, it called on a few “sentinel laboratories” which screened a portion of the cases detected in their facility.
This screening shows that the proportion of cases linked to Omicron rose from 22% on December 12 to 81% on December 18 to reach 79% on the 19.
“Omicron is extraordinarily transmissible,” explains Dr.r From Serres. This means that what we were doing in terms of measures to protect ourselves against the Delta could, in certain circumstances perhaps, not be sufficient. The kind of slack in the application of measures which, while we were with Delta, had less consequences, is likely to have a lot more with the Omicron. “
Weaker protection
In addition to being more contagious, Omicron can evade vaccine immunity or the immunity from a previous infection, says Dr.r From Serres. “Protection against infection [grâce aux deux doses de vaccin] is obviously weaker with Omicron than with Delta, ”he explains.
A big question remains: Does Omicron cause more severe or milder symptoms than Delta? The Dr De Serres replied that some data “suggests that it is less virulent, that there are fewer people who end up in hospital than with the Delta variant”, but that others show that “there is no there are not so many differences ”.
The third dose, however, improves “protection against Omicron”, says Dr.r From Serres. “That means those who were unsure of going for a third dose, I think in the context of the Omicron it’s worth having. “Their immunity will increase in” a few days, “he says.
For the moment, “few people” have had access to the third dose in Quebec, which places the province “in a bad position”, deplores Roxane Borgès Da Silva, professor at the School of Public Health of the University of Montreal .
Quebec crossed the 5,000 case mark on Tuesday and will surpass that of 6,000 on Wednesday, a record since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roxane Borgès Da Silva fears that the intensive care prioritization protocol must be implemented if hospitals are overwhelmed despite the downsizing of activities. The Ministry of Health and Social Services retorts that, “since the start of the pandemic, the network has never even approached” the application of this protocol. “However, it is our responsibility to prepare for any eventuality,” one writes.
Should we confine Quebec? Difficult to answer, says Nathalie Grandvaux, director of the CHUM’s research laboratory on the host’s response to viral infections. “I don’t know whether to go to more major containment,” she said. It’s a big decision, and I’m personally missing some elements to be able to decide on something of this magnitude. “
Unlike the Legault government, Nathalie Grandvaux does not have in hand the latest projections from the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS) and the INSPQ concerning hospitalizations of patients with COVID-19.
With the current speed of spread, however, she is concerned about absenteeism among health professionals. “Healthcare staff will also be infected or come into contact with infected relatives and have to isolate themselves,” she says. That’s my biggest fear in transmission speed. “