‘Game changer’ Omicron spreading rapidly

Booster shot appointments remained scarce in Hamilton as Ontario's medical officer of health pleaded with the public to get their third dose in the face of rapid spread of Omicron.

Each Omicron case is infecting four to eight times more individuals than the Delta variant and it is rapidly becoming the dominant strain in Ontario," Dr. Kieran Moore said Tuesday. It is critically important for those who are eligible for a booster dose to come forward immediately."

Data showing Omicron is infecting even those with two doses was called concerning" by Hamilton's medical officer of health.

We are, of course, ready to respond, but do anticipate the road ahead is going to be quite challenging for all of us," said. Dr. Elizabeth Richardson. We are significantly concerned as we go forward. We are seeing here, as elsewhere, rapid transmission of the Omicron variant."

Moore said he was working with Ontario's public health units to rapidly increase" capacity to administer COVID vaccines, which appear to still protect against more severe illness from Omicron.

However, no significant expansion to Hamilton's rollout has been announced, despite appointments being hard to get.

On Monday, we did open up to (age) 50-plus and, as tends to happen, we then have a surge of people," said Richardson. With the change that has occurred more rapidly I think than we were expecting ... you are seeing all the health-care system partners pull out the stops to see what we can do over the next couple of weeks to get more of those third dose appointments onto the system."

She said public health is considering expanding hours or holding special clinics, with more information expected in the next few days.

The province is also mulling further measures expected to be announced later this week to curb the spread of Omicron as Ontario abandons its regional strategy that saw individual public health units put in restrictions to fight local flare-ups.

Omicron is becoming a game changer," said Moore. We're reviewing all of our policy directions in light of Omicron."

He emphasized, I want to have a consistent approach across Ontario."

Moore raised particular concern about those most vulnerable to the virus, announcing new restrictions in long-term care and retirement homes.

He also urged those living in the community to limit social contacts with advice reminiscent of earlier days of the pandemic.

If you are older, if you are immune suppressed, you've received a transplant or are undergoing cancer therapy, now is not the time to have social events ... to go out to mass gatherings," he said. If you need to go out, please limit your exposure to others. Have the pharmacy deliver your medications if possible, ask a neighbour or a friend to deliver food to you ... Please take caution now."

The advice for the rest of Ontarians was more muddled, with neither Richardson nor Moore giving a clear answer on family holiday gatherings less than two weeks before Christmas.

I do trust Ontarians to make the right decisions and to limit their total number of contacts as the risk goes up," said Moore. We will have further advice coming this week on potential maximum numbers in the gatherings. The smaller, the better."

Richardson said guidance for the holidays was under active discussion."

We very much encourage people to be looking at those plans," she said. It's definitely not a message that any of us want to hear. At this time of year, we'd love to be getting together with our family and friends. But start now with thinking about your own personal situation, what your personal situation is for your family in terms of their risk of severe outcomes from this virus and start thinking about what adjustments may need to be made."

Three of Hamilton's 20 ongoing outbreaks are suspected to be linked to Omicron - one is at St. Patrick Catholic Elementary School where six students and one staff member have tested positive.

Two were private events, including an outbreak at the West End Pub, where three were infected at a gathering on Dec. 6. The other is at Homewood Suites from an event on Dec. 4 in the Hamilton Room, where five have tested positive.

We're also looking at ... a number of individual cases that are suspect Omicron," said Richardson. As this continues to move forward in the next couple of days it's likely we'll begin to treat every case like an Omicron case."

Moore agreed that Ontario has now reached that point where it's assuming all cases are Omicron in how they're handled.

It's already putting increased pressure on contact tracing at Hamilton public health, which is short 100 full-time equivalent staff.

The concern about Omicron's rapid spread comes just days after Tim Hortons Field hosted the largest crowd in its history, with 26,324 fans attending the Grey Cup.

We didn't expect to be in the situation we are in today," said Richardson. This is taking off very quickly and quicker than we would have expected, so, yes, we are somewhat concerned about what might come of the gatherings that have happened over the last several weeks."

Joanna Frketich is a health reporter at The Spectator. jfrketich@thespec.com