Lambton's Medical Officer of Health says the Omicron variant has changed the game.
Dr. Sudit Ranade told Sue Storr on CHOK (103.9FM/1070AM) Thursday that regardless of vaccination status, the variant is so transmissible and the rate of infection is high.
"I think that people need to be very aware that because of the transmissibility of Omicron, it is very likely that most people will get Omicron at some point," said Dr. Ranade.
He said the key now is to focus on reducing severe disease and hospitalizations.
"When you have two doses, you already have a dramatically lower risk of being hospitalized," said Dr. Ranade. "What we're finding with Omicron is that you may not have as much protection against getting any symptoms whatsoever. And so when we're talking about boosting people, it looks like what we're really talking about is giving them protection from having any symptoms whatsoever."
As of Monday, December 20, all Ontarians aged 18 and up will be eligible to receive a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Ranade said implementing lockdowns won't stop the variant from spreading.
"Because it's so transmissible, the doubling time is every two to three days, in terms of numbers of cases, which means it spreads effectively and efficiently through a population, and nobody can shut down their socializing behavior forever," he said. "Many of us have been doing it for 20 months, some have been essentially isolated for that period, and others have been selectively interacting. The problem is, if everybody shuts down now, we could reduce or interrupt transmission for a short period of time, but I guarantee you there will be either pockets or people bringing it back into the community, and it will just take off again."
As of Thursday, there have been no lab-confirmed cases of the newest variant in Sarnia-Lambton.
