Members of the media may directly contact the following expert:
Earl Brown (English only)
Emeritus Professor of Virology, Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine.
[email protected]
Professor Brown agreed to answer our questions:
What makes Omicron different from the other variants and why should people be concerned?
“Omicron is the most infectious SARS COV-2 variant found to date and has the ability to overcome immunity due to natural infection or vaccination. Omicron has enhanced its biological properties due to a very large number of mutations that have increased its ability to bind and infect human cells. These mutations also change the structure of the SARS COV-2 spike protein so that some antibodies can no longer bind, thus reducing the effectiveness of immunity as well as some antibody-mediated therapeutics.”
Will the two doses of the vaccine be enough, or should people seek out a booster as soon as possible?
“Two doses of mRNA vaccine are not effective at preventing infection with omicron such that only 25 % of vaccinated people are protected from reinfection. Protection against serious disease is still largely maintained where 70% effectiveness is seen in the prevention of hospitalization.
“People who are at high risk of COVID-19 complications should get a 3rd shot to restore protection and for the general population to prevent spread of infection.”
What measures should people take this holiday season to ensure everyone stays safe and healthy?
“Canadians should update their vaccination status to 3 doses and public health mitigation practices need to be maintained – masks, hand-washing, limiting the size of contact groups.”
Should the provincial government put restrictions in place temporarily to aid in this?
“The government needs to maintain vaccination requirements for public commercial interactions as well as crowd sizes in commercial and sports venues.”