Roger-Luc Chayer (Image: AI – Gay Globe)
« It will be okay! », said Quebec Premier François Legault during the early days of the public health emergency declaration in 2020. People were anxious, and the world was experiencing, for the first time in its history, a kind of apocalypse where humanity was forced to stop and suspend all activities, of any nature, to control the spread of a new virus about which we knew almost nothing.
The vaccines arrived, the mandatory use of masks helped reduce the spread, as well as mortality, and we were able to gradually resume our activities. However, even in September 2024, not everything has returned to normal everywhere. Remote work remains, society has changed due to the pandemic, and the appeal of large downtown offices is no longer the same.
For its part, the COVID virus has mutated several times, each time taking on new forms with more or less different symptoms. But so far, we’ve started to get used to not thinking too much about this calamity.
A Worrying Return of COVID
Unfortunately, in recent months, health authorities in most Western and Asian countries have observed a significant resurgence of the disease. In Quebec, hospitals are once again filling up with cases, and although mortality is not increasing at the same rate, the complications related to the disease are severe and require intensive care.
To such an extent that the Ontario government (Province of Ontario, Canada) has started reintroducing mandatory mask-wearing in some of its institutions, particularly in the healthcare sector. A similar situation is occurring in the Saguenay region (Quebec), where there is a surge in COVID cases. « Eleven healthcare facilities are currently dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. Still from the Omicron family, this time it’s the KP2 and KP3 variants responsible for most of the infections. The symptoms are still roughly the same: sore throat, muscle aches, headaches, and fever. These two variants represent about 70% of what we’re seeing in the field. It’s mostly older people who are getting sicker, while others are not affected at all. But it can happen to anyone, as the current vaccine is less effective, » explains Dr. Aubin. (Journal Le Quotidien – Katherine Boulianne – July 2024)
Will Masks Become Mandatory Again?
Will mask-wearing become mandatory again in large cities, public spaces, and airplanes this fall? Public health authorities around the world are currently studying the issue, considering the new KP2 and KP3 variants, which respond poorly to current vaccines and could have harmful effects. No decision has been made yet, except to mandate mask use in the healthcare sector and for individuals displaying symptoms who need to be in public spaces.
New Vaccines Coming This Fall
For now, health authorities are not recommending mass vaccination campaigns due to the low effectiveness of current vaccines against the new variants. It is advised to wait until the fall, when new vaccines, better adapted to the circulating mutations, will be available. The flu vaccination will also be offered, allowing people to « kill two birds with one stone »!
Editor’s Note: Due to the hostility of some individuals, conspiracy theorists, and other proponents of misinformation, any post attempting to share non-scientific or false information will be removed, and the author will be banned.