Author of the article: The Canadian Press Mickey Juric Date of publication: 11 Apr 2022 • 8 hours ago • 3 minutes reading • 104 Comments Omicron is best for treating immunity from vaccines or previous infections. Photo by Getty Images / PNG
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Christine Enns said she was shocked when a quick test showed she tested positive for COVID-19.
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Enns, who received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and a booster vaccine, already had the virus in early February and believed that re-infection was rare. “I started feeling sick three or four days ago thinking, ‘I feel like COVID.’ “I did five tests and today it came out positive,” the bakery owner said Friday from her home in Warren, Mann, about 45 miles north of Winnipeg.
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“It was a surprise to me because of all the things I put in to not get it. “Now that I’ve had it twice, I do not feel so invincible.” Re-infection of COVID-19 was considered unusual, but then came the Omicron variant. “Because Omicron is so different, a previous infection does not protect you,” said Saskatchewan Chief Medical Officer Dr Saqib Shahab last week.
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He said public health data suggest that up to 10 percent of infected Canadians who recently had BA.2 – a subtype of Omicron – previously had BA.1 or a previous infection, such as the Delta variant. This is in line with recent studies in the UK suggesting that 10 per cent of reported cases are re-infections.
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“This shows that just because you took Omicron once does not mean you are bulletproof now,” Shahab said. Not all provinces report public re-infection rates. In Ontario, however, public health says nearly 12,000 people have been infected with COVID-19 twice since November 2020, with the current risk of re-infection being considered “high”. The Quebec National Institute of Public Health says the number of alleged re-infections has increased significantly in its province since Omicron arrived.
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In a January report, Quebec reported 32 re-infections for every 1,000 primary infections, with nearly 9,000 people suspected of being re-infected since May 2020. Just because you got the Omicron once does not mean you are a bulletproof vest Dr. Saqib Shahab Nazeem Muhajarine, an epidemiologist at the University of Saskatchewan, said that, unlike other variants, Omicron is much better at treating immunity caused by either vaccines or previous infections. “Not only can it escape immunity, but it is happening at a time when people’s immunity is declining,” Muhajarine said, adding that it has been three to five months since most Canadians have completed the two-dose vaccine series. “It’s a bit of a double risk there, which is why we see so many more infections with Omicron.”
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Health officials continue to suggest that people complete the two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series and boost it with a third dose and, if eligible, a fourth dose. “Vaccines work really well against serious consequences, such as hospitalization and death,” Shahab said. “Even if you have stuck COVID at some point in the past, you can wait from two weeks to three months to get a souvenir.” Nationwide, about 47 percent of eligible individuals have received a third installment, according to the Public Health Service of Canada. Although she has taken COVID-19 twice, Enns said she will receive a second souvenir if she becomes eligible. “I feel like if I had not had the vaccinations, I would definitely have been in the hospital,” said Enns, who is at risk for type 2 diabetes and asthma. Enns recalled meeting an unvaccinated person who died alone in hospital from COVID-19, calling the experience “awful”. You think, ‘I could be me.’ “But I am at home and sick, but I will live.”
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