As more residents become infected with COVID-19, York Region Public Health is warning that having the virus is no substitute for getting a booster vaccination for immunity.
York Region medical officer of health Dr. Barry Pakes said in a May 2 video update that it is a question he is regularly receiving now. He reported that COVID-19 transmission levels are still high in the region, though with stabilizing signals appearing in wastewater data.
Still, Pakes said vaccination is needed even if you were infected previously.
“The protection provided by a vaccine is better and longer lasting than having a COVID-19 disease, and it’s also far safer,” he said.
York Region has approximately 1,439 active PCR-confirmed cases as of April 29, the most recent publicly available update, totalling 105,303 cases since the pandemic began. The wastewater signal fell last week, though it is at approximately 40 per cent of the peak of the Omicron wave as of April 29.
Meanwhile, booster vaccinations still lag behind other doses, with 57.2 per cent of eligible York Region residents age 12 and older at three doses, compared to 89.1 per cent with at least two vaccines.
If you have had at least two doses of vaccine, Health Canada currently recommends most people wait for at least three months for a booster after you get infected. The wait is at least eight weeks after infection before or after a first dose.
Pakes said hospitalizations are “still very high,” with 67 COVID-positive patients as of April 29. But he said positivity rates are declining and the number of institutional outbreaks is stable. The region also lifted its state of emergency last week.
“These are all signs we are heading in the right direction, but the pandemic and its impacts are not over yet,” he said. “We all need to take action collectively to keep ourselves safe, but also to prevent infection.”
Pakes said York Region and public health would start resuming more programs suspended by the pandemic in future weeks and months.
He said COVID-19 updates may be becoming more ordinary, but the situation is regularly shifting, and there is a need to get the information out there.
“We still need to know about changing conditions, so we can be prepared and respond,” he said. “There are new developments with COVID-19, and our response each and every hour, every day and every week. So I look forward to continuing to share these updates with you."
You can find vaccination clinic information or book an appointment via york.ca/covid19vaccine.
