Peel Region's Top Doctor Says Everybody Will Likely Face The Omicron Infection This Winter
Dr. Loh is encouraging everyone to get vaccinated.
Peel Region's medical officer of health, Dr. Lawrence Loh, says that he believes it's likely everyone in the region could catch the Omicron variant this winter.
In a weekly Brampton COVID-19 update, Loh revealed, "it's likely Omicron is spreading very quickly in our communities even beyond the case number being reported."
On top of this, Loh says, due to how transmissible the variant is, "it's likely that we will all face Omicron Infection at some point in the winter."
"That said, we can get through this together by reducing our own risks of severe outcomes by getting vaccinated and sticking to these precautions."
Loh explained that the impact of the Omicron variant is largely different for those who are vaccinated with two or three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine and those who are not.
"Those in our community who remain unvaccinated are six times more likely to end up being hospitalized and ten times more likely to end up in ICU," says Loh. "If you're vaccinated, especially with two doses and three if you're older, then your risk is much more manageable."
In the past weeks in Ontario, COVID-19 hospitalization and cases have started to rise, causing hospital staffing shortages and straining the healthcare system.
Some hospitals have taken measures by going into "Code Orange," and another hospital has paused its vaccination policy in order to allow for unvaccinated workers to work temporarily.
Ontario reported 9,783 daily COVID-19 cases on January 12, with 3,448 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and 505 patients in the ICU according to the Ontario government.
Health Canada has a robust website with all the latest information on COVID-19 vaccines and can answer any questions you may have.