Infection rate among unvaccinated highlights ‘too many vulnerable people’ By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Friday, Aug. 13, 2021

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This article was published 12/08/2021 (1231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nearly 90 per cent of known COVID-19 infections in Manitoba over the past month have been in people who were either unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, even as the number of cases reported each day drops to pandemic lows.

Between July 11 and Aug. 8 — the best available data from the province — a total of 971 COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Manitoba.

Of those, 759 people (78.1 per cent) had no doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or were within two weeks of their first shot. Ninety-eight (10 per cent) were partially vaccinated with at least one dose or within seven days of receiving a second shot. And 114 cases (11.7 per cent) were in fully vaccinated people, also called breakthrough infections.

Cynthia Carr, an epidemiologist and co-chair of the ProtectMB Campaign Advisory Committee, said the infection rate among unvaccinated and partially vaccinated people is cause for alarm, particularly as the Delta variant gains ground ahead of an expected fourth wave.

“We have clear and obvious groups of people that are either under-protected or not protected, and that’s where the significant concern is, because those people are also by far most likely to end up in the hospital or have serious health impacts,” Carr said Friday.

“We have too many vulnerable people.”

However, the numbers should be reassuring for fully immunized Manitobans, Carr said, and emphasized the overall infection rate among fully vaccinated people was very low, at just 0.05 per cent.

“We have clear and obvious groups of people that are either under-protected or not protected, and that’s where the significant concern is, because those people are also by far most likely to end up in the hospital or have serious health impacts.”
– Epidemiologist Cynthia Carr

Souradet Shaw, the Canada Research Chair in Program Science and Global Public Health at the University of Manitoba, added the proportion of breakthrough cases so far in Manitoba is expected.

“It is consistent with what we are seeing with respect to vaccine effectiveness in other parts of the world. Of course, if this proportion starts to increase, especially in higher-risk populations, then there might be cause for alarm,” Shaw said.

“It is critical to keep in mind the severity of illness associated with these infections,” Shaw noted. “We do expect a certain proportion of mild infections to occur, even amongst those fully vaccinated. So, hospitalizations and deaths from these infections will be important indicators to keep track of.”

According to the province, 46 fully vaccinated Manitobans have required hospital treatment for COVID-19 since late January, and 12 have died (three aged 60-69, nine aged 70-plus). Data on intensive care unit admissions was not immediately available.

According to provincial data, children nine years or younger, who are unable to be vaccinated against COVID-19, made up nearly 17 per cent of infections between July 11 and Aug. 8, or a total of 165 cases.

“This truly is, or should be, a preventable illness. We have the tools available,” Carr said. “But it’s not a preventable illness for people under the age of 12 or those who are medically unable to be vaccinated.

“This truly is, or should be, a preventable illness. We have the tools available. But it’s not a preventable illness for people under the age of 12 or those who are medically unable to be vaccinated.”
– Cynthia Carr

“We still have pockets who are not protected and our rates aren’t high enough to assure people they are protected,” she said. “We need to come together as a cohesive community to reach this goal.”

As of Friday, 80.7 per cent of Manitobans age 12 and up had at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 73.8 per cent of them were fully vaccinated.

When considering the entire Manitoba population, 63.5 per cent of residents were fully vaccinated, as of Friday.

“That’s not anywhere near where we need to get for herd immunity, so that’s not going to help us in this fourth wave,” said Dr. Kristjan Thompson, an emergency room physician at St. Boniface Hospital and president of Doctors Manitoba.

The physicians association has called on Manitobans to continue wearing masks in public indoor settings and for businesses and governments to expand use of the immunization cards to facilitate safer gatherings in the interim.

“We are going to be heading into a fourth wave of COVID-19 that will be a wave of the unvaccinated,” Thompson said. “The patients that I’m seeing that are the sickest in the ER, that are requiring acute care, or ICU level care, are unvaccinated patients.”

The vaccine is safe, effective and the best tool in the fight against COVID-19, Thompson said, but needs to be complemented by additional public health measures to inhibit spread among people who have yet to be immunized.

“We’re friendly Manitoba, we need to look after each other.”

Since mid-January, a total of 435 breakthrough COVID-19 infections have been reported in Manitoba, and about 52 per cent were caused by a variant of concern.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

Danielle Da Silva
Reporter

Danielle Da Silva is a general assignment reporter.

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