With public messages and insufficient epidemiological data suggesting that we are now “living with COVID-19”, doctors and other health experts say it is very difficult for the public to make informed personal decisions.
“Getting a real idea of ​​what’s going on in Canada is getting harder and harder… We’re getting to a point where if you want to assess your own risk, it’s impossible to do,” said Julie Lajoie, a research associate in medical microbiology.  at the University of Manitoba with a doctorate in virology and immunology, he told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview on April 11.
“Right now, a lot of people across Canada are moving towards the idea of ​​living with the virus, making it sound like the virus is now endemic.  That it is not.  “We are still really in a pandemic, it’s global.”
To make the situation endemic, Lajoie says there should no longer be a large influx of patients into hospitals.  The flu does not cause this level of hospitalization, he said, adding that despite people’s willingness to compare COVID-19 to a cold, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is very different.
“A cold does not increase the risk of having heart disease.  A cold does not increase the risk of a blood clot three to six months after infection.  A cold does not increase the risk of diabetes.  And even if it is really mild, COVID increases those risks. “
Dr Cecile Tremblay, an infectious disease specialist at the Center hospitalier de l’Universite de Montreal (CHUM) and a professor at the University of Montreal, told CTVNews.ca in a telephone interview that the current figures do not reflect the extent of the pandemic, which may confuse the public by assuming that the virus is not widely circulated.
“Unfortunately, there is no sense of urgency in the population,” Tremblay said, in part because the public is reasonably tired of the measures and wants to return to normalcy.
Government messages have also given the impression that “it is no longer an emergency or it is no longer important,” he added.
“This is unfortunate because it is still very, very important because the virus is circulating at levels almost similar to those observed in the fifth wave.  “And we know that some people will die and some will get very, very sick.”
Quebec, one of the few counties still mandated to have a mask, currently has the highest number of COVID-19 treatments in Canada, with 1,793 patients admitted for treatment since April 11.  In January, the province’s public health director, Horacio Arruda, resigned, acknowledging a “erosion” of public confidence.
Earlier this month, Canada’s public health chief Dr. Theresa Tam said during a federal briefing on COVID-19 that case data was “more volatile” making estimates more difficult, although the key message for a resurgence and its impact remained unchanged.  .  Unlike previous updates, no modeling views were provided.
Tam stressed that monitoring mortality remains very important and that Canada needs to “do better”.  Developing a good, consistent approach to reporting data at this stage of the pandemic was also crucial, he said.
“I will be really disappointed if we go back and leave the real gains we made during this pandemic, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure we strengthen such reports in the future.”  he said.
While hospitalization and death remain important data points, Lajoie notes that both are indicators of lag and that “some provinces were not very good at reporting this.”  Manitoba, for example, no longer reports data on a daily basis and has instead moved to weekly reports, while wastewater data is only available for Winnipeg and is not provided weekly.


“MILLIONS THROUGH NEGLIGENCE” 
In Ontario, the province’s public health chief, Dr.  Kieran Moore gave his first public press conference in almost a month on April 11, making a “strong recommendation” to continue wearing a well-fitting, three-layer or medical mask in all public interior settings.  It also extended the criteria for who might be eligible for PCR testing and antiviral therapies such as Paxlovid.  But it was not enough for those medical health experts who took to Twitter with their concerns.
“He really chose not to do much and he believes we will have 600 patients in the Ontario ICU.  “I’m really confused because he accepts this future without doing what is necessary to protect people,” said Dr. Michael Warner, an intensive care physician at Michael Garron Hospital, in a video posted on Twitter.
Warner noted that during the fifth wave, Moore had instructed all hospitals to cancel non-emergency surgeries when there were 260 COVID-19 patients in the ICU.  This number later peaked at 594 at the end of January.  There were 184 ICU patients on April 11th.
“If we are in this orbit, if his data says that and we do not change anything, that really worries me,” Warner said.
“It means that the surgeries will probably be canceled and those patients with COVID-free care needs will wait and wait and get more and more ill, and that is not fair.”
Colin Furness, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto Institute for Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, also criticized Moore for underestimating the impact of the virus, especially on children, writing on Twitter that “there is a lot of scientific evidence for COVID vascular and neurological damage.” ** still ** when the respiratory phase is mild. “
“It is miles beyond negligence to label COVID as the only respiratory virus,” he added.
Last week, Furness told the CTV News Channel, “The government’s narrative – that is, ‘there is not much COVID, there is no pandemic, there is no wave, everything is fine’ – this is a terrible, really, really terrible way of deceiving the public to abandon their guard and get sick.  That is a huge problem. “


MESSAGES FROM LOCAL PUBLIC HEALTH UNITS 
At least one public health unit appears to be taking precautionary measures to contact its local community.  Peterborough Public Health released its own COVID-19 Community Risk Index two weeks ago, which tells the public what the current level of transmission risk is in the area.  It also provides an assessment of the level of risk for the various COVID-19 indicators, including incidence rates, hospitalizations, sewage surveillance, and test-positive.
Other public health facilities also continue to recommend masks and vaccinations.  The Ottawa Public Health Unit told CTVNews.ca in an email Friday that it had informed Moore of “COVID-19 levels in Ottawa” and was informed that “they are currently closely monitoring the impact on the health system capacity.” to guide their action “.
Ottawa Public Health also said it was continuing to promote vaccination, indoor coverage, keeping concentration rates small and “urging residents to avoid crowded and enclosed spaces and to limit indoor time with others.”


MASKS AND SUPPORTING COOPERATIVES 
Many health professionals say they are not seeking a return to lockdowns, but are seeking better policies and messages.  Provinces say they should regularly inform the public about the epidemiology, continue to remind people of simple, protective measures such as mask use, continue to support vaccinations, and emphasize the effectiveness of booster shots in preventing serious infection.  Canada’s aid rate of about 50 percent for the third shot is not enough, they add.
“We need to redefine across the country what it means to be ‘fully vaccinated,'” Warner said.
“Not for orders or passports, but because the nomenclature matters.  What you call something is important.  And this is a series of three shots.  Let’s say it as it is.  Get your third vaccine because you need three vaccines to get fully vaccinated. “
He also said that mask orders should be restored in key areas such as schools, grocery stores and pharmacies.
“People who are medically weak or immunocompromised have the right to get their medicine, to get food, to get their children and grandchildren back from school from a completely safe environment,” he said.
“I think it’s fair.  And I do not think it’s too much of an intrusion on other people.  I think it’s easy. “
There is also a financial cost to current policies, experts say, because workers have to lose their jobs and take care of their sick child or get sick themselves.
“I understand the need to return to a more normal life and that it is probably not necessary to start a lockdown and close businesses.  “But there is a difference between doing this and doing absolutely nothing,” Tremblay said.
“People need to keep in mind that they still have to wear their masks, try to maintain social distance, take the third or fourth dose of vaccination.  And also if they are accidental, stay home and stop transmitting the disease.  These messages must be repeated.  Unfortunately, they have to be repeated regularly.  And we have not seen enough in recent weeks. “