by: katelyn thomas
the fourth wave of covid-19 expected to hit quebec this fall won’t resemble the last three, experts say. it will race through the unvaccinated, potentially peaking quickly and leaving long covid in its wake.
“i think it’s very clear that another wave is coming, the question, though, is will this be a ripple or will this be a tsunami?” said dr. donald vinh, an infectious-diseases specialist and medical microbiologist at the mcgill university health centre. “there will be an increase in community cases, but will there be an increase in the people who need to be hospitalized or require icu, or will there be an increase in deaths?”
following an uptick in daily case numbers last week, premier françois legault acknowledged the beginning of the fourth wave in the province, dubbed “the wave of the unvaccinated” by health minister christian dubé. in quebec, “the unvaccinated” largely refers to younger age groups — including those who choose not to get vaccinated, those who might not have found the time, and children, who are not yet eligible for the shot.
“the elephant in the room is that no child less than 12, really, has been vaccinated, and so are these children sitting ducks for what happens in the next two months? and the answer is yes, that’s definitely a concern,” vinh said. “when the delta variant sort of spreads through the community of vulnerable people, what will that look like?”