Councillor hit by ‘intense’ COVID; urges people to get booster

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This article was published 07/07/2022 (1219 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It started with fatigue and then a sniffle.

Before long, the full range of COVID-19 symptoms was bearing down on city councillor John Orlikow.

For roughly a week, Orlikow’s daily routine has involved taking cold medication, guzzling fluids and sleeping for up to 15 hours. This is the first time the politician, who represents River Heights-Fort Garry, has tested positive for the virus, and it ain’t pretty, he said.

“The muscle pains, the fatigue and the sinus problems, they’ve been pretty well the whole way through… and then things like ear aches, nausea, running nose, goop coming out of my eyes — all that came (after),” Orlikow said. “This is much more intense than I expected.”

Orlikow, who is triple-vaxxed, was planning to get his booster soon but figured he was in good health and didn’t have to rush, he said.

Now, he is urging others to learn from his mistake.

“If you’re thinking of getting the booster, get it now,” he said. “It’s just not worth it — it feels terrible.”

The councillor got a negative rapid-test on Thursday morning, but still had symptoms and planned to remain in isolation until they subsided, he said.

Orlikow is one of many who may soon be forced into solitude by incoming virus variants, said Winnipeg epidemiologist Cynthia Carr.

She pointed to other provinces that are already feeling the effects.

On Wednesday, Ontario’s science advisory table warned that province was likely in the midst of a new wave fuelled by the BA.4 and BA.5 variants.

In a series of online messages, it revealed around 80 per cent of Ontario’s public health units were reporting increased case counts, including rising hospitalizations and test-positivity rates.

A similar surge in COVID infections is likely headed our way, Carr said.

Variants are challenging because they are constantly evolving, making them highly infectious and capable of evading antibodies. This means previous infections with other COVID-19 strains no longer provide natural immunity, Carr said.

Manitobans can prepare for a future wave of COVID-19 by staying up to date with their vaccinations and staying home when they feel sick — even if they produce a negative rapid test, said Winnipeg medical microbiologist Dr. Philippe Lagace-Wiens.

“I hear a lot of people saying, ‘I tested negative, so I can go out,’ Lagace-Wiens said this week. “But rapid tests aren’t perfect and don’t always pick up the infection in time.”

Proper staffing levels in health-care facilities and personal care homes need to be a priority, and ventilation in schools and other indoor spaces needs to be improved and maintained to blunt the systemic impact of impending waves, he said.

Manitobans are likely to be offered more booster shots in the coming months.

It is standard practice for scientists to create multiple vaccines as they work to keep ahead of new strains, Carr said.

“There is even more reason now to look at where you’re at in your vaccine schedule and get up to date,” she said.

—With files from Katie May

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca