Medical experts warn about spread of Delta variant
Experts say it's just a matter of time until Ontario has a new dominant strain of the COVID-19 virus.
The province’s deputy chief medical officer of health, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, cautioning that the Delta variant, first identified in India, is spreading rapidly in Ontario.
“Rapidly the U.K. [variant] is going down and the Delta is going up so we fully expect it will become the predominant strain,” Yaffe said.
In Ottawa, four confirmed cases of the Delta variant have been detected.
“[In] three to four weeks it will be crossing over the 50 per cent threshold of proportion of Delta in Ontario. So, it’s definitely coming in. It’s definitely going to be 100 per cent at some point,” Ottawa Hospital Senior Scientist Doug Manuel said.
Manuel says new consensus is that the reproduction rate (R) of the Delta variant is now positive, meaning for everyone the virus transmits at a one to one rate.
“The best guess, a bit speculative, but we’ll be in positive growth for R for Delta, cases will start to increase and then [the question is] can we vaccinate our way out of it,” Manuel said.
According to Dr. Yaffe, the Delta variant spreads one and half times faster than Alpha variant and new studies from Scotland estimate the Delta variant doubles the risk of hospitalization compared to the Alpha strain.
“People that are on one dose of the vaccine seem to be more susceptible to becoming a case with the Delta variant than with the Alpha, which is quite concerning,” Aris Katzourakis, a professor of evolution and genomics at the University of Oxford said.
Katzourakis notes the surge of Delta variant driven cases in the United Kingdom has lead to an increase in hospitalization.
“It’s not clear exactly what proportion of infections may lead to hospitalization depending on different vaccination statuses but that’s a very concerning area that we’re keeping a very close eye on,” he added.
Data released this week from Public Health England suggests that after a single dose, the AstraZeneca vaccine is 71 per cent effective against hospitalization and Pfizer vaccine is 96 per cent effective.
“It really, really underlines the importance of rolling out that second dose to people, especially to locations which have raging Delta variant pandemics,” Katzourakis said.
In Ottawa, those with two doses of the vaccine say they’re more thankful than ever.
“It’s a huge relief for myself, the family and especially dad,” John Cau, whose 98-year-old father Nick got his second dose on Tuesday, said.
“I can’t wait to get mine,” Cau added.
Even those with a single dose of the vaccine say they feel safer knowing they have some level of protection against the new variant.
“Very, very safe; way better than before,” Simon Hughes said.
“Yeah I feel more comfortable, for sure,” Ana Perez added.
Manuel says keeping cases low will be key to manage the spread of the variant, something Ottawa Public Health could do though intensive contact tracing of any new clusters.
“We need to transition our whole pandemic [strategy] to more of a cluster buster. We just treat it as Delta and then we really go after not only the person and their contacts but where they got it from,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
World seeing near breakdown of international law amid wars in Gaza and Ukraine, Amnesty says
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
U.S. Senate passes bill forcing TikTok's parent company to sell or face ban, sends to Biden for signature
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
Wildfire southwest of Peace River spurs evacuation order
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
U.S. Senate overwhelmingly passes aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan with big bipartisan vote
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.