‘Boost your defences’ ahead of winter viral spread, Ottawa urges in mail campaign – National | 24CA News
The federal authorities has shipped postcards out to 6 million households throughout Canada forward of the vacation season, urging Canadians to step up their precautions as a number of viruses — together with COVID-19 — proceed to unfold.
The postcard warns that “more time indoors this fall and winter could lead to more COVID-19 illness.”
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It goes on to remind the recipients that bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, which offer safety in opposition to the Omicron variant, at the moment are out there — and that it is best to take into account getting a booster shot if it’s been six months since your final COVID-19 vaccine or an infection.
The postcard additionally tells the reader that further particular person public well being measures, like masking in crowded areas and staying house when sick, are “always a good idea.”
The postcards had been despatched to 6 million households with a forecasted price ticket of $1.08 million, in keeping with an announcement from Anna Maddison, a spokesperson for Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
“Surveillance indicators, including clinical and wastewater testing, show that (COVID-19) is still circulating across the country,” Maddison defined.
“While we are past the peak of the last COVID-19 resurgence, it is too soon to let our guard down.”
Variations within the Canadian inhabitants’s stage of immunity, in addition to present world tendencies, are suggesting that Canada might expertise an uptick in COVID-19 circumstances within the new 12 months, Maddison stated.
“In recent weeks, genetic sequencing data on SARS-CoV-2 viruses shows continuing increases in immune evasive variants, notably BQ.1 and BQ1.1, while the previously dominant BA.5 lineage variants are declining,” she added.
“With the increased prominence of these variants in Canada, at a minimum we could see a slower decline and higher plateaus in the number of infections as well as hospital admissions in Canada, as this respiratory virus season plays out.”
The warning comes as a number of different respiratory sicknesses are circulating in Canadian communities — particularly amongst kids. The flu and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have been ripping via Canadian households and straining hospital assets.
“Respiratory illnesses increase in the fall and winter, when people spend more time together indoors,” Maddison added.
Infectious ailments specialist Dr. Isaac Bogoch stated that even when the flu season is presently peaking, it’s “a long way down the other side of the barrier — which means there’s still a lot of flu season ahead and you should still be getting protection.”
“We’re about to enter the holiday season. We’re going to have innumerable close contacts with people,” he stated, talking in an interview with AM640 Toronto, a radio station owned by Global News’ mum or dad firm Corus Entertainment, on Dec. 16.
“Celebrate, have a wonderful time, but do so responsibly…. If you can reduce your risk of getting infected or infecting other people, you should do that.”
Meanwhile, the federal government is ramping up its efforts to encourage Canadians to take precautions in opposition to the unfold of COVID-19 this winter.
The postcard is the newest in a “broader set of campaigns” the federal government has undertaken to extend consciousness of the significance of retaining updated with COVID-19 vaccinations, in keeping with Health Canada and PHAC.
“These efforts include advertising, outreach and marketing activities,” she stated.
However, not all of those efforts have gotten a heat reception amid the winter chill.
With the vacations simply across the nook, chief public well being officer Dr. Theresa Tam posted a video of her “great chat with Mrs. Claus” the place the 2 shared concepts of what Canadians can do to make the vacation season “happy and healthy.”
Some social media customers, although, described the video as “cringe.”
“Every child in Canada has definitely earned a place on the nice list. Their parents and caregivers too. It’s been a tough season with lots of viruses making people sick,” Tam stated.
In response, “Mrs. Claus” stated she and Santa Claus are each feeling wholesome and are “up to date with our vaccination, including COVID boosters and flu shots.”
She inspired Canadians to scrub their arms to the tune of Jingle Bells and put on a masks in crowded indoor areas, whereas encouraging Canadians to open up their doorways or home windows for durations at a time to get contemporary air into areas the place folks could be gathering in the course of the holidays.
— with recordsdata from Global News’ Amanda Connolly
© 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
