Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - February 26, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMA8 C M Y K PAGE A8 SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022NEWS I COVID-19 PANDEMIC 3975 Portage Ave ASDowns.com Reservations now open for Live Race Night Buffets! Call 204-885-3330 Friday Steak & Saturday Ribs 4 pm - 8 pm. $24.95 (Reservations not required) Wager on top tracks at ASD, Off-track locations & HPIbet.com (Wager 24/7 at HPIbet.com) 140 VLTs open daily from 10 am to 1 am (VLTs are sanitized between use) COVID-19AT A GLANCE Cases: MANITOBA Confirmed: 130,277 Resolved: 119,7754 Deaths: 1,675 Active: 8,848 (As of 12:30 p.m. Friday) CANADA Confirmed: 3,269,546 Resolved: 3,119,776 Deaths: 36,377 Active: 113,393 (As of 8 a.m. Friday) The latest fromManitoba: ● On Friday, the province announced another drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations and seven deaths: a female in her 40s from the Prairie Mountain Health region and six in the Winnipeg health region, including a female and a male in their 60s, a female in her 70s, a female and a male in their 80s, and a male in his 90s. The province’s pandemic death toll is at 1,675. The government’s pan- demic dashboard shows 513 people with COVID-19 were in hospital, including 29 in intensive care, a decrease of 11 COVID-related hospitalizations over 24 hours. PCR testing confirmed 313 new cases. The test positivity rate provincewide is 14.8 per cent. Just 1,385 tests were processed Thursday. The province is no longer tracking the majority of positive COVID-19 cases because PCR testing is limited and Manitobans who use rapid tests are not able to report their results. ● Manitoba’s University College of the North plans to keep COVID-19 vaccine and masking requirements in place for all students, employees and visitors until at least the end of the current term. In a release, the post- secondary institute based in The Pas announced restric- tions will remain in place until the winter semester ends on April 22 in order to limit disruptions. ● Four cases of a more contagious Omicron variant have been confirmed in Manitoba. The first case of BA.2 (a sub-type of Omicron) was detected in the province Feb. 10, and three others were confirmed this week, a provincial spokesperson said Friday. The variant is be- lieved to be more contagious than the original Omicron strain, but it’s not yet known whether it causes more severe illness. Vaccine eligibility: ● First- and second-dose vaccinations are available for all Manitobans over five years of age. Third dose shots are now available to all Manitoba adults. Check eligibility criteria and recommended time frames between doses at wfp.to/eligibility. Appointments can be booked online at wfp.to/bookvaccine or by calling 1-844-626-8222. The latest from elsewhere: ● People with symptoms should still wear masks, but most Americans live in places where healthy people, including students in schools, can safely stop wearing masks under new U.S. guidelines released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new system speaks to the 70 per cent of the U.S. population living in counties where the coronavirus is posing a low or medium threat to hospitals. People, including schoolchildren, should continue to wear masks where the risk of COVID-19 is high. The recommendations do not change the requirement to wear masks on public transportation and in airports and train stations. Quote: “We need to be ready for the fall, in case we need to up our game again” —chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam, in reference to being prepared to reinvoke health measures T HE Stefanson government’s deci-sion to drop COVID-19 vaccinerequirements for health-care workers and others who work with vul- nerable populations is the most glaring example yet that it has abandoned sci- ence in favour of politics when making pandemic-management decisions. Even the government’s own health experts say COVID-19 vaccines not only help reduce severe illness, but also reduce the risk of infection, in- cluding against the Omicron variant. If the science shows that vaccines help reduce transmission, why is the province scrapping its vaccine mandate for health-care workers and others who are in contact with vulnera- ble populations? Dr. Joss Reimer, the medical lead for the province’s vaccine task force, provides regular updates on vaccine information on her Twitter account, including insight into studies from around the world. One of her jobs is to stay current on the most recent analy- sis published in medical journals. Last month she cited a recent study published in the Journal of the Ameri- can Medical Association that showed COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of infection against the Delta and Omi- cron variants (more effective against Delta, but still some protection against Omicron). What’s more, the study showed, a third shot provided more protection against both variants than two doses. “This study from the USA didn’t look at severe outcomes but did find that the booster was significantly better than two doses or zero doses at preventing infection with Omicron,” she wrote. The lower the risk of infection, the less chance people have of spreading the virus to others. There’s more: while vaccinated peo- ple can still get infected and spread the virus, the study found, the unvaccinat- ed had a lot more virus in them than in- fected people who were triple-vaxxed. “This adds to the existing body of evidence that even though vaccinated (or, in this case, boosted) people can still catch COVID, they are less likely to spread it to other people compared to unvaccinated infected people,” wrote Reimer. She said the study corroborates earli- er findings. “You might wonder why studies like this are important, especially if the findings are something we’ve already seen in other research,” wrote Reimer. “But that’s how science works — and how the ongoing evaluation of these vaccines happens — in real-world con- ditions where we want to see multiple studies all showing the same results.” Knowing this, and assuming Reimer and her team are feeding this science up the chain of command, why would the province end the vaccine mandate for health-care workers? Doctors, nurses and others are in close contact with some of the most vulnerable people in society, including sick pa- tients whose immune systems may be compromised. Most health-care workers in Man- itoba already have to be vaccinated against infectious diseases such as rubella, measles and hepatitis B. It’s been a condition of employment at the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority since 2006. The concept of vaccine mandates for health-care workers (many of whom have, for years, been required to disclose their vaccination status for a variety of diseases during formal training in school) is not new. So why is it different for COVID-19? Health Minister Audrey Gordon provided some insight into that question during a news conference Thursday. She said lifting the vaccine mandates will help bring back some “normalcy” and assist in “bridging some divides that have been created throughout this pandemic.” Instead of taking a clinical approach to mitigating the spread of the SARS- CoV-2 virus in hospitals and other health-care settings through the use of vaccine mandates, the government wants to bridge some abstract “divide” that may or may not exist. That’s not science-based decision making, that’s small “p” politics. “We want to do it in an empathetic way, we want to be compassionate and kind and to remember that everyone has had an experience with this COVID pandemic,” she said. In other words, the government is willing to put vulnerable patients and others at risk by eliminating a proven pharmaceutical measure to reduce COVID-19 infections because it’s worried about hurting the feelings of a small minority of health-care staff who refuse to get vaccinated. That’s a preposterous and spectacu- larly reckless position. tom.brodbeck@freepress.mb.ca Premier’s pandering reckless, putsManitobans at risk TOM BRODBECK OPINION F OR more than 40 years, neonataltransport nurse Sue Roberts wentto great lengths to make sure her tiny patients’ health-care needs were met. Now, the retiree waits for surgery herself — wondering if the system she dedicated her working life to will be able to help her as Manitoba’s backlog of postponed procedures piles up. “I don’t want to deteriorate to the point where I can’t manage at home,” said Roberts, 73, who is waiting for spinal stenosis surgery and to see the province’s plan for tackling the estimat- ed 52,327 delayed surgeries. “I’m just going to be a further burden on the system if I have to go to a per- sonal care home or something,” she said from her Winnipeg condo. Doctors Manitoba’s latest estimate of the overall backlog — including sur- geries, diagnostic imaging tests (such as MRIs, ultrasound scans) and other diagnostic procedures (such as allergy tests and endoscopies) — is 161,585 pro- cedures, an increase of 7,748 from its January estimate. Roberts, who retired in 2016 before her first spinal stenosis surgery, was nurse co-ordinator in the province’s neonatal transport program. Her work involved flying to remote northern com- munities, caring for newborn babies and helping to move heavy incubators in and out of aircraft and boats. “My job was mentally and physically demanding,” she said. Now, Roberts uses a walker, relies on wheelchair transit and is in need of an- other surgery to stop the fingers on one hand from further bending like claws. “Right now, I am fairly handicapped but I manage OK at home with a little help from home care,” said Roberts. In August 2021, her surgeon couldn’t give Roberts a surgery date but told her to go to an emergency room if her con- dition rapidly deteriorates. Roberts said she won’t do that unless she sees a dra- matic change to her health. “It is frustrating,” Roberts said. “I just don’t want to get to the point where I deteriorate further, if that can be pre- vented.” She’s concerned the provincial gov- ernment has no plan to tackle the mas- sive surgical backlog. “I just don’t see any action on their part,” Roberts said. “I mean, not con- crete action, like ‘this is the plan,’ you know? To some extent, I feel it’s pacify- ing people.” On Dec. 8, Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced a task force to ad- dress the backlog, with a report expect- ed in the new year setting out an analy- sis of the current situation, a summary of progress made to date, and how suc- cess will be measured. When Manitoba announced in Janu- ary a deal with a Sanford Health facili- ty in Fargo, N.D., to perform the type of spine surgery Roberts needs, she said she felt hope. It was soon dashed, she added, when the clinic said it didn’t have a signed contract with Manitoba and local pa- tients were its first priority. At a news conference Thursday, Gor- don said Manitoba does have a deal with the Fargo surgical centre and the details are being worked out. Gordon said the task force would give an update “very soon.” The health minister also noted an estimated 500 Manitoba health-care staff redeployed to handle a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations will return to their home units as pandemic case counts decline, allowing the resumption several services. Having staff return to their regular roles is encouraging but not enough, Doctors Manitoba said Friday. “Addressing the backlog will require additional capacity, beyond what exist- ed before the pandemic, and doctors remain ready to help,” a statement said. NDP health critic Uzoma Asag- wara said Manitobans should’ve seen a detailed plan to address the backlog months ago. “The fact that we still don’t have a plan, a road map and a timeline to deal with this surgical and diagnostic back- log is an absolute failure of this govern- ment,” said the nurse turned MLA. “It is inexcusable that, at this point, Manitoba families who’ve been waiting years for important surgeries, who’ve been waiting in pain, have been suffer- ing without the procedures they need, still don’t have an end date in sight to that,” said Asagwara. “That’s a failure of this government. There’s no reason for it and the fact that we don’t have a plan yet just speaks to the level of incompetence that’s been on display by this government since before the pandemic.” carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Retired caregiver asks: how longmust I suffer? CAROL SANDERS As she waits for surgery, she loses trust in task force MIKE DEAL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ‘I just don’t see any action on their part. I mean, not concrete action, like ‘this is the plan,’ you know? To some extent, I feel it’s pacifying people’ —Sue Roberts (right) A_08_Feb-26-22_FP_01.indd 8 2022-02-25 10:00 PM ;