covid-19 daily update: are vaccine boosters effective during the omicron wave?

majority of canadians are willing to get their next covid-19 booster when it becomes available to them. canadians urged to get boosters even if they've already had covid. testing ordered in shanghai and tianjin raises concerns of more lockdowns in two of china's largest cities.

by emma jones

published jul 18, 2022

last updated feb 16, 2023

2 minute read

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covid-19 daily update: are vaccine boosters effective during the omicron wave?

canadians who previously contacted covid-19 are still at risk of reinfection, according to the public health agency of canada. getty

majority of canadians say they are willing to get next covid-19 booster vaccine

sixty-one per cent of canadians are willing to get their next covid-19 booster when it becomes available to them, according to a new study by angus reid. women over the age of 54 were the most likely to say they would get the next vaccine shot (81 per cent) followed by men in the same age category (73 per cent).

a majority of canadians (62 per cent) say they would be willing to get a covid vaccine every year, so long as it is recommended by public health bodies.

across the board, canadians who have only received one or two doses of the vaccine were the least likely to say they would get another shot, with only 17 per cent saying they would do so. more than a third of men under the age of 55 (36 per cent) say a fourth dose is entirely unnecessary.

twenty-two per cent of canadians say they do not believe keeping on top of boosters guards against serious illness or even from getting sick. this percentage dropped the more boosters a person has had — with only seven per cent of those with three doses and two per cent with four doses agreeing.

canadians urged to get boosters even if they’ve already had covid-19

canadians who previously contacted covid-19 are still at risk of reinfection, according to the public health agency of canada. this most recent statement pushes back on the hopes immunity would increase due to the wide spread of the omicron wave.

those who have had a complete primary series plus an additional dose of the covid-19 vaccines had approximately six times lower mortality rate and four times lower hospitalization rate when compared to unvaccinated canadians, according to vaccine effectiveness data from may 9 to june 5.

more mass testing, snap lockdowns in china

authorities have ordered mass covid-19 testing in shanghai and tianjin, two of china’s biggest cities, raising concerns that there may be another lockdown in these areas.

on saturday, officials in beihai — a resort destination in guangxi region, to the south of china — locked down parts of the city in response to the more than 500 cases reported last week. residents are reportedly told to stay home and a portion of the roughly 2,000 tourists currently in the city are expected to have to quarantine at their hotels. who will have to stay and who can go depends on if they visited a high-risk area of the city, if they have come into contact with a known case and the results of a covid-19 test, say authorities.

another round of mass testing has begun in macao territory, one of the most popular gambling destinations in the world. lockdown in the autonomous territory began on july 11th, with the city’s 600,000 residents ordered to stay home after a record-number of cases reported (1,700 cases from mid-june to the start of lockdown). all non-essential businesses must remain closed until friday.