A roundup of COVID-19 developments for Monday Dec. 13, 2021
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I’ve been thinking about care a lot for the past month since my mother was moved from the ER at St. B to a hospital bed at Concordia.
I’ve witnessed it in the tenderness of the nurses who hold her hand and the aides who help her up in ways that offer both support and dignity.
I’ve also seen there is not near enough care to go around for patients who desperately need it. On more than one occasion, my role as caregiver to my mother has seen me do likewise for patients wandering aimlessly or attempting to sit on a cleaning cart in the mistaken belief it was a seat.
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I’ve appreciated the honesty of staff, who make clear they are doing their best to deal with the cruel staffing hand COVID has dealt hospitals everywhere.
However, what should also be clear is we’re failing on the care front. And when I say we, I mean all of us, not just this premier or that premier or whoever is involved in overseeing the care systems we all say we want for our loved ones.
“Care is the most fundamental form of support that we offer others that we love and know in our lives,” explains Ai-jen Poo, author of The Age of Dignity: Preparing for the Elder Boom in a Changing America. “And it’s something we rely on from the time that we’re born to the time that we take our last breath. All of us need and rely on care and provide it at different points in our lives. And so that’s why we say it’s essential. It’s the work that makes all other work possible.”
In Poo’s view, society’s approach to care is essentially a house of cards held together by the unpaid work of women within families and the underpaid work of women, most of whom are of colour.
While Poo is writing on the American experience, that house of cards is falling apart here in Canada, too.
All of which takes us to the news of the day that Manitoba is again having to look outside of the province for intensive care nurses.
In a statement issued Monday afternoon, Health Minister Audrey Gordon said the request was made on the weekend “due to the continued pressure of the fourth wave and continuing pressures in our major acute care facilities and ICUs.”
I know, I know. We’ve seen this movie before. It wasn’t good in the third wave. It’s unlikely to be any better in the fourth wave, especially with the omicron variant adding even more drama.
We entered the pandemic with our care systems suffering from pre-existing conditions that have been exposed and exploited by COVID over and over again.
Do we care enough to make the changes really needed to ensure the care we all say we want — and which we will all need at some point — is always there?
Sadly, I’m not willing to hold my breath as I wait for my mother to take her last.
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Paul Samyn, Editor
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THE LATEST NUMBERS
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To see a larger selection of charts showing the state of COVID-19 provincially and nationally, visit COVID-19 by the numbers.
THE LATEST IN MANITOBA
• Eight Manitoba seniors died from COVID-19 this weekend, with 478 new cases reported since Friday. Manitoba Health reported Monday that the province’s five-day test positivity rate remains unchanged from Friday at 5.7 per cent provincially and 3.7 in Winnipeg. The newly reported deaths all involve people over the age of 60. The pandemic continues to take a higher toll in Southern Health, which accounted for five of the eight deaths and 58 per cent of the new cases. In Winnipeg, an outbreak has been reported at École Assiniboine’s Grade 5 class in St. James and in sections of the Grace and Seven Oaks hospitals.
• The Manitoba Pandemic Paid Sick Leave Program, established to help cover the costs of employee sick leave related to COVID-19, is being extended until March 31. The voluntary program provides eligible employers with up to $600 per employee for a maximum of five full days (40 hours) of COVID-19 related sick leave. Eligible sick leave for the program related to COVID-19 includes testing, vaccinations and side effects, self-isolation due to COVID-19 symptoms or to care for a loved one in any of these circumstances.
For the latest information on current public health orders, restrictions and other guidance, visit the provincial government’s website.
All Manitobans aged five and up are eligible to schedule a first-dose vaccine appointment. Anyone who has received a first dose of any vaccine can now book their second-dose appointment. There must be a minimum of 28 days between receiving the first and second shots. Most adults are now eligible for a booster shot. For the latest information on vaccination, visit the provincial government’s website.
Manitobans who have received all required doses of a vaccine at least 14 days ago can request an immunization card to prove complete vaccination. To request a digital or physical card, visit the provincial government’s website.
THE LATEST ELSEWHERE
• Long lines formed Monday at vaccination centers across England as people heeded the government’s call for all adults to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant as the U.K. recorded its first death of a patient infected with omicron. U.K. health authorities say omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain and that the variant will replace delta as the dominant coronavirus strain within days.
• The omicron variant has dented the protection afforded by two doses of Pfizer’s and AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccines, researchers found, increasing the risk of infection. Blood samples collected from people vaccinated with the two different shots and tested against the new strain showed a substantial drop in neutralizing antibodies, a proxy for protection, particularly compared with the delta variant, researchers from the University of Oxford said Monday in a paper. The results echo other recent findings that emphasize the need for booster shots.
• The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to halt a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in New York that does not offer an exemption for religious reasons. The court acted on emergency appeals filed by doctors, nurses and other medical workers who say they are being forced to choose between their jobs and religious beliefs. New York is one of just three states, along with Maine and Rhode Island, that do not accommodate health care workers who object to the vaccine on religious grounds.
QUOTE, UNQUOTE
“What we’re looking at is the transition from this urgent crisis response state to one where the virus is more predictable.”
— Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam suggests there are reasons to remain optimistic about the COVID-19 pandemic’s trajectory though a “bumpy ride” this winter may still be ahead
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LOCAL NEWS
Gregory Mason:
Time to rethink vaccination strategy
Omicron is on the prowl. While early indications are that it does not cause serious illness, it is very infectious. The current approach to enforcing vaccination mandates will not probably get us to 9...
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NATIONAL NEWS
Laura Osman, The Canadian Press:
When will the pandemic end? Tam is optimistic
OTTAWA - COVID-19 is unlikely to be wiped out completely, but it might be tamed, Canada's chief public health officer said Monday.
Canada is expecting a potentially massive surge in cases in the comin...
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Tara Deschamps, The Canadian Press:
Canadian truckers want vaccination exemption
TORONTO - Canada's trucking industry wants the federal government and the U.S. to exempt their workers from forthcoming vaccination mandates, but health experts say the proposal is problematic.The Can...
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Marie Woolf, The Canadian Press:
Two in five Canadians know unvaxed people: poll
OTTAWA - About 40 per cent of Canadians know a family member or friend who is not vaccinated against COVID-19, and most don’t raise the issue with them, a poll carried out this month suggests. The sur...
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Laura Osman, The Canadian Press:
Harvard expert has fix for Canada's health backlog
OTTAWA - COVID-19 has thrown Canada’s already struggling health-care system into chaos, forcing impossible choices when it comes to how to rebuild once the pandemic has ebbed. Hospitals were forced to...
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Maan Alhmidi, The Canadian Press:
Some universities cancel in-person exams
Some universities are adjusting their plans for end-of-semester exams in response to the rise in COVID-19 cases. The University of Victoria in British Columbia will not be holding any further in-perso...
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The Canadian Press:
A look at the latest COVID-19 news in Canada
A look at the latest COVID-19 news in Canada:— Canada's chief public health officer says Canada is expecting a potentially massive surge in COVID-19 cases in the coming weeks, driven by the new Omicro...
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Holly McKenzie-Sutter, The Canadian Press:
Ontario regions introduce Omicron measures
TORONTO - The fast-spreading Omicron variant prompted several Ontario regions to announce new public health measures Monday in a bid to control surging cases ahead of the holidays. The moves came as m...
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The Canadian Press:
N.S. man arrested over vaccine card forgery
BARRINGTON, N.S. - A 50-year-old Nova Scotia man has been arrested for allegedly making fake proof of COVID-19 vaccination cards.The RCMP said today in a news release they received a complaint about t...
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