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Health workers call on premiers to do more than ask Ottawa for more health-care funding With Canada’s premiers gathering for the first time in person since 2019 this week, health workers on the front lines are calling for a concrete action plan to deal with what many are calling a “crisis” situation across the country. Millions of Canadians are struggling to access medical care within a health system that is crippling under the weight of worker shortages and employee burnout. After working through the trauma of treating dying patients for more than two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, health-care workers across the country are now dealing with overflows of patients who delayed seeking medical care during lockdowns. Health workers are now so overworked that many are exiting the profession, leaving even more work for those who remain. It’s leading to patient backlogs and ER closures across the country. That’s why physicians and nurses are urging the premiers during their meetings this week to come up with some tangible solutions to the problems facing the system, rather than simply calling on Ottawa to increase its health transfers to the provinces — a request the premiers have been united on for several years. To read more about the solutions being proposed by those on the front lines, read Teresa Wright’s story here. 
Contracting COVID-19 may not guarantee immunity At least 40 per cent of Canadians have been infected with the Omicron variant of COVID-19, according to new research compiled by Canada's COVID-19 Immunity Task Force. But despite this "Omicron tsunami" in Canada, as task force experts call it, emerging data shows not everyone who gets sick with COVID-19 will develop immunity from the infection. In fact, one in every eight people who contract the virus does not develop antibodies in their blood from their illness. And children are half as likely to develop immunity from an infection, according to the data released in June. This is just one of many findings from research studies funded by the COVID-19 Immunity Task Force that offer new insights into the virus that has caused a global pandemic, including how the virus is evolving and how this is affecting the immunity provided by vaccines and infections. Click here to read the full story. 
Q: I had my fourth dose in January 2022. I'm 74 years old and I have myelofibrosis. Do I need a fifth dose? Most provinces and territories are only offering fourth doses at this point, and many are restricting these second boosters to those who are immunocompromised or are at higher risk of severe outcomes from contracting COVID-19. But as researchers’ understanding of the COVID-19 virus evolves and as the virus itself mutates, the advice on and availability of booster doses is changing. When asked about whether fourth or fifth doses should be offered more widely during a question and answer session last week, the World Health Organization‘s chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, said for the time being, the WHO recommends everyone get a primary course of the vaccine (the first two doses) and a booster. “Many countries have started giving a fourth dose, and that’s because you see this waning of antibodies, particularly against Omicron. And so the fourth dose, again, boosts your immune system a little bit, but it’s temporary.” Those who are highly vulnerable, including the elderly, those with underlying medical conditions, people who are immunosuppressed, pregnant women and those in regular close contact with COVID-19-positive patients, “could potentially be offered a fourth dose, especially four to six months after the previous dose, because that then boosts the immunity,” Swaminathan said. “That doesn’t seem to protect against getting infected, but it could offer, of course, additional protection, a little bit incremental protection against severe disease, but it’s not recommended for everyone at this point.” Meanwhile, in Canada, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) came out with new guidance on vaccine booster shots for the fall in advance of a possible future wave of COVID-19 in Canada. It recommended Canadians at increased risk of serious illness from COVID-19 be offered a fall booster dose "regardless of the number of booster doses previously received." NACI also recommended that boosters "may" be offered to all other individuals from 12 to 64 years of age, regardless of how many booster doses they have previously received. So, the short answer to your question is: a fifth dose may not be available in your province yet, but it might be soon. And of course, if you’re still not sure whether another dose of the vaccine is for you, the best advice would come from your health provider. | 
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