Little is known about the new Omicron subvariant XBB. 1.5, and it hasn’t yet been detected in New Brunswick, that doesn’t mean it isn’t a concern.
Dr. Christopher Labos said it is too early to know whether the variant is any worse than other strains under the COVID umbrella of Omicron, but people should be concerned about its transmissibility.
“As we learned with the original Omicron variant, anything that is more transmissible and infects more people will land more people in the hospital even if it’s not a particularly severe strain,” Labos said.
He said the best thing people can do is prepare for the worst, which means being up-to-date with vaccination and wearing masks, particularly in indoor spaces.
Labos said the virus replicates every time it infects someone new, and it makes a new virus that has different spike proteins – learning to new strains.
“If we want to stop this process, we have to stop giving the virus an opportunity to make copies of itself and that means controlling the spread and we know how to do that,” he said.
Proper ventilation is key, he said, adding that people should be lobbying government, industry and the public sector to invest in ventilation that will provide cleaner air.
New Brunswick Public Health said there are no confirmed cases of the XBB. 1.5 COVID-19 variant in the province.
“Because this is an emergency subvariant, Public Health is still discussing its potential impacts with its colleagues in other provinces and at the Public Health Agency of Canada,” the statement said.
The new variant has been described by the World Health Organization as the “most transmissible” COVID strain so far.
According to the WHO, it’s been detected in 29 countries to date, including Canada.
Death reporting lag
While the province braces for the new variant, Public Health reported 18 deaths for the period of Dec. 18-31. However, only one death actually occurred during that time. One of the deaths happened back in September, three of them in November and the remainder in early-to-mid December. The report also indicates that three deaths were reported prior to Aug. 28, 2022.
In the notes section of the reported deaths, it said there is an “average two-month lag from date of death to the registration of death.” It also said the related data “should be interpreted with caution.”
Dr. Tara Moriarty, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of Toronto, said the province’s death toll is higher than what is publicly known.
The weekly report also widened the age brackets for reported deaths. It now only reports, 50 and under, 50 to 69 years old, then 70 and above.
Moriarty said a two-month lag is a long time, but is about the average for most provinces in Canada, with the exception of Quebec.
She said there is likely a gap for people who’ve died suddenly outside of hospital which could mean they may not be tested for COVID-19 post-mortem.
“Almost all provinces, except Quebec and Manitoba, really miss a lot of COVID-19 deaths, and it may not be that they are under-reporting but they’re not testing deaths that are likely COVID deaths,” she said.
Back in October, the province did a deceased reconciliation and made public the two-month death lag.
“In the spirit of transparency, and to better reflect the ongoing situation to New Brunswickers, the new report’s Figure 5 lays out of the dates of the death for those deaths reported that week, and notes any new confirmed deaths in blue,” said department spokesperson Adam Bowie.
Previous reports, including one from mid-December, suggested the deaths did occur during the reporting week. It was a metric the public could use to “assess their risk” for protective measures.
No one was made available for an interview Thursday.
“The changes to New Brunswick COVIDWATCH report were designed to reflect a more standard epidemiological reporting process, much like the ones used by other provinces, such as Nova Scotia,” Bowie said in a statement.