Xinhua News Agency
OTTAWA – The National Advisory Council on Immunization (NACI) of Canada strengthened its guidance on boosters on Tuesday, Apr. 12, while Chief Public Health Officer Theresa Tam confirmed the country is in a sixth wave of COVID-19.
NACI said in a statement that all adults aged 18 years or older are now “strongly recommended” to receive a first booster dose.
Adolescents 12 to 17 years of age “should” be offered a first booster dose if they have an underlying medical condition that puts them at high risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19, NACI said.
In addition, NACI recommended that a first booster dose be offered to anyone aged 12 years or older in the context of heightened epidemiological risk.
NACI said that booster doses should be given at least six months after the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines, noting that the guidance change is based on considering additional data on the duration of protection from a primary COVID-19 vaccine series, the safety and effectiveness of a first booster dose in adolescents and adults, and the changing epidemiology of COVID-19 in Canada.
Tam said on Tuesday the latest rise in cases across the country is fuelled by the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron. “We can say we are experiencing a sixth wave in Canada, generally speaking.”
According to a statement from the Chief Public Health Officer, recent 7-day averages showed an ongoing marked increase in average daily case counts, as well as rising trends in severe illness in most jurisdictions.
Likewise, laboratory test positivity during the latest 7-day period ending April 10 increased to 19 percent nationally, and community wastewater data continued to signal sharply rising trends in the number of localities across the country, the statement said. (Xinhua) – bny