COVID cases, hospitalizations, deaths rising, weekly provincial data reveals

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This article was published 14/07/2022 (1190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A new wave of COVID-19 cases expected in the fall could be getting an early start, as provincial data released Thursday shows increases in the number of infections, hospital admissions and deaths compared to a week earlier.

The weekly Manitoba Health epidemiological report for the week of July 3-9 also shows an increase in the test-positivity rate of recorded PCR tests is now 14.8 per cent; it was 11.5 per cent in the previous report for June 26-July 2.

Health officials in several other provinces have confirmed that they are in the midst of a fresh wave of infections from the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variant strains of the coronavirus.

Manitoba reported 229 total cases, 59 hospital admissions — seven to intensive-care beds — and six deaths in the report released Thursday. The numbers all eclipse the 125 total cases, 46 hospital admissions that also included seven to the ICU and one death a week earlier.

The case count is under-reported because most Manitobans don’t have access to PCR tests and the province doesn’t track rapid antigen test results. The death toll is now at 2,053.

The hospitalization rates, as expected, are much higher among unvaccinated or partially-vaccinated Manitobans.

The data shows people who have received at least one booster dose in addition to the intitial two shots are much less likely to land in hospital or need intensive care.

It underscores a push from at least one rural community to make fourth doses available to all Manitobans, regardless of age.

The epidemiology report includes vaccination-status information that suggests a third dose, rather than just two, has been effective to better protect against severe COVID-19 infections.

About 55 per cent of Manitobans have had at least three shots, and patients with at least one booster dose accounted for roughly 24 per cent of patients in the ICU. More than 80 per cent of Manitobans have received two shots, and the double-vaccinated accounted for about 53 per cent of ICU patients in the month of May. Considering the minority of unvaccinated people in Manitoba, they are still over-represented in hospital and in the ICU. Less than 20 per cent of the eligible population is unvaccinated, but 19.6 per cent of ICU patients were unvaccinated in May.

COVID-19 case rates are highest among people living in the Northern health region, and Manitobans 70 and older are still the most likely to be hospitalized or die from COVID-19.

The province reports hospitalizations by vaccination status on a month-long delay. Data up to the end of May was just published Thursday.

Ontario expanded fourth-dose eligibility to all adults on Thursday, but Manitoba has yet to make a similar move. The fourth dose is available only to Manitobans over age 50, Indigenous residents over age 30 or by special permission from a doctor for immunocompromised individuals. When asked earlier this week, the province said no changes to the fourth-dose rollout will be announced yet.

But a faster rollout of fourth doses is particularly important in rural communities where access to health care is already harder to come by, said Victoria Beach councillor Steve Axworthy.

The RM of Victoria Beach passed a resolution earlier this month asking the province to urgently expand eligibility of fourth doses to the general public. Staff shortages have shuttered the nearest emergency room, and provincial training requirements forced the closure of the community’s first-responder program, making prevention of severe illness even more necessary, Axworthy said. The Pine Falls Health Complex ER has been closed since mid-May.

“What does it say about our province when a rural municipality is begging and pleading for health-care assistance from the province and they receive nothing in return other than more cuts and further reductions of service?” Axworthy said.

“Rural municipalities should not be the ones to have to bring this up, but unfortunately it’s gotten to that point where the province won’t do anything unless they’re begged.”

Axworthy said he hopes the RM’s own resolution helps put pressure on the province to “do the right thing” and immediately make fourth doses available to everyone under 50.

A similar resolution from Victoria Beach earlier this year urged the province to change the definition of “fully vaccinated” to mean three doses.

It’s been at least seven months since most Manitobans under age 50 received their third shots. Immunity wanes as more time passes, so planning for a fourth-dose rollout has to be timed for an expected increase in transmission, and the province was planning for a fall surge in COVID-19 cases.

The full report is available online at: http://wfp.to/obK

katie.may@winnipegfreepress.com