Canada COVID update: Hospitalizations stable

Saturday marked three years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and Canada’s director general of public health says the virus has reached a relatively stable state in this country.

Dr. Theresa Tam says there have been no waves of new infections in recent months.

Omicron subtypes continue to spread, but hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths have stabilized

Population immunity is high because of the overall high uptake of the vaccine, combined with the immunity people have acquired from the infection, Tam said.

He said officials continue to watch for new strains of the virus that can evade people’s immune systems.

He also says it’s possible Canada could be spared any new big waves in the coming months.

Tam cautions that this does not mean that COVID-19 is over.

He says people who are elderly or immunocompromised continue to be disproportionately affected by the virus.

Tam urges anyone who hasn’t been vaccinated or received a booster dose to get those shots.

The National Immunization Advisory Committee is recommending an additional bivalent booster dose this spring for adults at high risk for severe disease from COVID-19 if six months or more have passed since the last vaccination.

This includes the elderly, long-term care home residents and immunocompromised people.

Tam says there have been millions of COVID-19 cases and more than 51,000 deaths in Canada over the past three years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 10, 2023.

Canadian press health coverage is supported through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.