We’re in the course of flu season, and a brand new variant of COVID-19 is making its manner by Canada.
The XEC pressure, a hybrid of Omicron subvariants KS.1.1 and KP.3.3, was first detected in Canada in mid-August and the variety of COVID-19 instances with the XEC variant has quickly elevated.
In accordance with the most up-to-date information from Well being Canada, the proportion of constructive instances with the XEC variant as of Oct. 13 was 18.9 per cent, up from simply 3.1 per cent of instances on Sept. 1. The pressure with essentially the most instances is the Omicron KP.3.1.1 variant, which accounts for 48.4 per cent of all COVID-19 instances.
Isaac Bogoch, an infectious ailments specialist at Toronto Normal Hospital, says a virus mutating into totally different variants is regular.
“We have seen a number of variants by the final nearly 5 years,” Bogoch stated. “It simply means the virus is altering as anticipated. I believe if individuals are questioning what does this truly imply, it is at all times troublesome to foretell the long run. However this upcoming winter is probably going going to look similar to final winter from a COVID-19 standpoint.”
Does the brand new vaccine shield towards XEC?
Well being Canada authorised Pfizer-BioNTech’s up to date COVID-19 vaccine in September, which is now obtainable to be used throughout the nation.
Nevertheless, it was developed earlier than the XEC variant hit most of the people.
Bogoch says the most recent vaccine was designed for a sublineage of Omicron referred to as KP.2, which started circulating a number of months in the past. Whereas it might not be an ideal match to fight the XEC pressure, he says every new up to date vaccine extra intently resembles the circulating mutations of the COVID-19 virus.
“It is at all times going to be an arms race of the virus mutating and making a vaccine that is tailored to it,” Bogoch stated, including that it is similar to the influenza vaccine that is up to date every year. “You are by no means going to get it excellent, as a result of the vaccine goes to proceed to mutate.”
Bogoch says because the pandemic, whatever the vaccine and the lively COVID-19 pressure that’s circulating, “the entire vaccines have performed a outstanding job in lowering the chance of extreme an infection, equivalent to hospitalization and dying,” particularly for individuals who are most susceptible.
“It does not should be an ideal match, however we all know the vaccines are nonetheless fairly darn good.”
Bogoch says whereas we’re past the period of masks mandates, individuals can select to put on one in an indoor setting to scale back their threat of getting sick and that, if attainable, individuals ought to keep residence when sick to forestall others from additionally getting in poor health.
