{"id":372558,"date":"2021-11-25T22:58:55","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T19:58:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave\/"},"modified":"2021-11-25T22:58:55","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T19:58:55","slug":"what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave\/","title":{"rendered":"#What to do as we walk into the pandemic&#8217;s fifth wave"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a0cca2e54\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a28a0cca2e54\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave\/#Indicators\" >Indicators<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave\/#Solutions\" >Solutions<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#What to do as we walk into the pandemic&#8217;s fifth wave<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<div>\n                            Vaxx Populi: If the worsening situation in Europe is foreshadowing what&#8217;s to come, get ready, Canada\n                        <\/div>\n<div>\n                                                                        <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dr. Malgorzata Gasperowicz has a routine when she gets into a taxi: she makes sure the driver is wearing a mask, rolls down the windows, then often talks to the driver about the risks of airborne transmission of COVID-19 and then gives him a KN95 mask, because most drivers don\u2019t know about the airborne risks of the disease, she says. It\u2019s one way she helps spread the word that the dangers inherent in this pandemic aren\u2019t over, especially as the temperatures fall and case counts climb.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GosiaGasperoPhD\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gasperowicz <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZiadFazel\/status\/1436914775888334853?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">modelling the pandemic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> since its start, using the skills she developed as a developmental biologist at the University of Calgary to track the possible and probable trajectories of wave after wave of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. And right now, she\u2019s worried about what she\u2019s seeing in the data. When asked to rate the likelihood of a fifth wave hitting Canada this winter, she pauses, then says it\u2019s seven or eight out of 10, depending on how governments react to changing circumstances on the ground.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe\u2019re in a very risky state,\u201d she says<\/span>.<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201cIt all depends on what our politicians will do,\u201d as they set the policies for their jurisdictions. Significantly, most provinces have relaxed public health measures in recent months. For example, just before Thanksgiving, the Ontario government<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.ontario.ca\/en\/release\/1000947\/ontario-cautiously-lifting-capacity-limits-in-select-settings\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> lifted all capacity limits<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in arenas, gyms and theatres.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>MORE:\u00a0Typical \u2018vaccine hesitant\u2019 person is a 42-year-old Ontario woman who votes Liberal<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In particular, Gasperowicz is worried that the worsening situation in Europe may foreshadow what is to come here. There, many countries relaxed public health measures as vaccination rates climbed earlier in the year. Now, they are experiencing huge surges of cases. For instance, in Portugal, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/covid-cases\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">daily case counts now average 227 cases<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> per million population, compared to 73 a month earlier, despite <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/covid-cases\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">having 88 per cent of its entire population<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> double vaxxed, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/health-infobase.canada.ca\/covid-19\/vaccination-coverage\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">compared to Canada\u2019s 76 per cent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Germany\u2019s rate is 633 new cases per million population, more than four times its rate a month earlier. There,<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hospital admissions are soaring and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/covid-in-germany-icu-staff-pushed-to-their-limits-and-beyond\/a-59898394?maca=en-Twitter-sharing\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ICUs in COVID hotspots<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are at capacity (the country\u2019s<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vaccination rate is 67 per cent). In some nations, restrictions are being reintroduced, including in Germany, where outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/11\/22\/world\/europe\/covid-europe-surge-protests.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">called the situation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u201chighly dramatic.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Indicators\"><\/span>Indicators<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s been a while since people jumped on the pandemic data every day to see if things were getting better or worse. So, as the holidays <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>roach, these are the indicators that Gasperowicz suggests keeping an eye on:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Daily cases counts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: She looks at seven-day averages to see trends. Right now, the overall national average, which recently bottomed out at 2,241 a day at the beginning of the month<\/span><b>,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is now at 2,561 a day, according <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/covid19tracker.ca\/index.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">to COVID-19 Tracker Canada<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. And some provinces are going up even faster, including Ontario, which has nearly doubled its daily average in the past three weeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0How do I get my vaccine passport? Where will I need to show it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Effective reproduction number (Rt)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Currently, Canada\u2019s overall Rt value is above one, meaning that each person infected with SARS-CoV-2 is infecting more than one other person. That high rate of transmission means cases can slip into a surge at any moment. (A good Rt<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">would be well below 1.0, ideally around 0.6, which would allow for community transmission to be stopped in a given region in weeks.) The provinces with Rt values trending in the wrong direction are Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick. And the other provinces and territories aren\u2019t doing that much better as the virus is spreading, especially in indoor surroundings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Test positivity rates<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: A higher percentage of positive COVID-19 tests can indicate more community spread of the virus. In two hotspots in southwestern Ontario, the test positivity is more than 15 per cent, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/DAS\/AHRQ\/COVID-19-Dashboard\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to ICES data<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, compared to a <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ontario.ca\/page\/how-ontario-is-responding-covid-19#section-0\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provincial rate of 2.6 per cent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In Alberta, where cases have been falling since its fourth wave, test positivity has stopped declining, and is now slowly increasing to more than <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.alberta.ca\/stats\/covid-19-alberta-statistics.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">five per cent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Solutions\"><\/span>Solutions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In addition to reimposing public health measures, Canada has options to suppress a fifth wave of COVID-19 cases that weren\u2019t widely used or available last winter, Gasperowicz says.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Vaccines<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Right now, unvaccinated children account for around half of all cases of COVID-19. The current rollout of vaccines to those in the 5 to 11 age group should help reduce their risk of contracting COVID-19. Earlier this month, Health Canada authorized the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/news\/2021\/11\/health-canada-authorizes-the-use-of-the-pfizer-biontech-comirnaty-covid-19-vaccine-as-a-booster-shot.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pfizer <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/health-canada\/news\/2021\/11\/health-canada-authorizes-the-use-of-the-moderna-spikevax-covid-19-vaccine-as-a-booster-shot.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Moderna <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vaccines as third doses for all adults 18 years and older. The boosters, to be given at least six months after the second dose, are now being given to seniors and those with compromised immune systems, but Gasperowicz <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Billius27\/status\/1463489983478747143?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and others<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would like to dramatically expand the pool of adults entitled to booster shots, especially those in the highest-risk settings, such as essential and front-line workers including teachers, retail staff and health-care workers. Already in the United States, third shots are available to all adults.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>READ:\u00a0How to encourage vaccine-hesitant people to get their COVID shots<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><b>Airborne transmission<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: For most of the pandemic, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/04\/health\/239-experts-with-one-big-claim-the-coronavirus-is-airborne.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">governments and the World Health Organization said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the virus spreads through droplets, leading to safety protocols such as Plexiglas<\/span>s<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> barriers and surface washing. Now, a growing number of scientists are saying that evidence shows the <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/cid\/article\/71\/9\/2311\/5867798\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">virus is airborne<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. On Nov. 12, Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada\u2019s chief public health officer, <\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/public-health\/news\/2021\/11\/remarks-from-the-chief-public-health-officer-on-november-12-2021.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">came as close as any high-profile Canadian official<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has come to saying that this is an airborne virus: \u201cWe\u2019ve learned how the virus can linger in fine aerosols and remain suspended in the air we breathe, much as expelled smoke lingers in poorly ventilated spaces. And similar to second-hand smoke, those in close proximity to the infected person inhale more aerosols.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gasperowicz believes governments have to be more explicit about the airborne dangers, including that the virus can linger in a room even if no one is there or if the air is not properly circulated and purified. For instance, Britain has <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DHSCgovuk\/status\/1463435974172717063?s=20\">created ads<\/a> about mitigating the risks of indoor gatherings.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To deal with the airborne risks, Gasperowicz wants HEPA air purifiers to be widely used, and for CO2 monitors that indicate the strength of an indoor ventilation system to be on display (the lower the level of CO2, the better the air quality). In Japan,<\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jljcolorado\/status\/1447610150127239170?s=20\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> real time CO2 levels<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are now posted for<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">each screening room at movie multiplexes.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Rapid tests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The tests, which haven\u2019t been widely used or available in Canada, should be as ubiquitous here as they are in Europe where they are either free from governments or sold for a few dollars a test. Indeed, one of Gasperowicz\u2019s friends in Austria was in her first week of teaching a class of 30 students when five tested positive through those quick tests even though they hadn\u2019t displayed symptoms.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<span class=\"ctx-article-root\"><!-- --><\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async defer crossorigin=\"anonymous\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News<\/a> articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/general\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/news\/what-to-do-as-we-walk-into-the-pandemics-fifth-wave\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#What to do as we walk into the pandemic&#8217;s fifth wave&#8221; Vaxx Populi: If the worsening situation in Europe is foreshadowing what&#8217;s to come, get ready, Canada Dr. Malgorzata Gasperowicz has a routine when she gets into a taxi: she makes sure the driver is wearing a mask, rolls down the windows, then often talks&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":372559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.macleans.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/CP121874677-766x431.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[108022,67806,84966],"class_list":["post-372558","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-covid-19-in-canada","tag-editors-picks","tag-vaxx-populi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372558","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372558"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372558\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372558"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372558"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372558"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}