Statement from the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada on February 27, 2021

OTTAWA, ON, Feb. 27, 2021 /CNW/ -

On February 26, after a thorough, independent review of the evidence for safety, efficacy and quality requirements, Health Canada authorized the third and fourth COVID-19 vaccines for use in Canada. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which was developed in partnership with Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India version of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is sponsored in Canada by Verity Pharmaceuticals Inc. These are the first viral vector COVID-19 vaccine to be authorized for use in Canada.

As of February 26, close to 1.8 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across Canada. Federal, provincial and territorial authorities are working closely together to monitor vaccine safety following immunization with COVID-19 vaccines. To date, based on data up to February 19th, there have been 1,235 reports of adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with COVID-19 vaccines; these include any medical event that occurs following immunization, but is not necessarily related to the vaccine or the immunization process. A total of 167 AEFI reports to date – about 1 in 9,000 doses administered – were considered serious, such as a severe allergic reaction. All adverse events are subject to review. All serious events undergo a detailed investigation to determine whether or not they are related to the use of the vaccine. Information that indicates a potential link between the use of a vaccine and a previously unknown health event, or a health event with incomplete information, is considered a safety signal, which warrants appropriate action from the regulator. To date, no unexpected vaccine safety issues have been identified.

As COVID-19 activity continues in Canada, we are tracking a range of epidemiological indicators to monitor where the disease is most active, where it is spreading and how it is impacting the health of Canadians and public health, laboratory and healthcare capacity. The following is the latest summary on national numbers and trends, and the actions we all need to be taking to maintain COVID-19 at manageable levels across the country. 

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 861,472 cases of COVID-19, including 21,915 deaths reported in Canada; these cumulative numbers tell us about the overall burden of COVID-19 illness to date. They also tell us, together with results of serological studies, that the vast majority of Canadians remain susceptible to COVID-19. As well, the emergence and spread of certain SARS-CoV-2 virus variants is an additional cause for concern. For the week of February 14-20, there were an average of 97,120 tests completed daily across Canada, of which 3.2% were positive for COVID-19. As of February 25, a total of 1,010 variants of concern have been reported across Canada, including 964 B.1.1.7 variants, 44 B.1.351 variants and 2 P.1 variant.

Although it is normal for variants to emerge as viruses continuously evolve, some variants are considered "variants of concern" because they spread more easily, cause more severe illness, or current vaccines may be less effective against them. As cases and outbreaks associated with more contagious variants, in particular the B.1.1.7 variant, are continuing to increase in Canada, we need to maintain the strictest vigilance in our public health measures and individual practices. This will help to prevent rapidly spreading variants from taking hold and making the epidemic much more difficult to control. Likewise, over the coming weeks and months it will be important to maintain a high degree of caution and not ease restrictions too fast or too soon. Any easing of public health measures must be done slowly with enhanced testing, screening, and genomic analysis to detect variants of concern. In particular, there must be sufficient contact tracing capacity and supports for effective isolation, given increased transmissibility of variants of concern.

Currently, there are 30,516 active cases across the country. The latest national-level data show a 7-day average of 2,960 new cases daily (Feb 19-25). Following the decrease in COVID-19 activity over many weeks, severe outcomes continue to decline as expected for these lagging indicators. Provincial and territorial data indicate that an average of 2,269 people with COVID-19 were being treated in Canadian hospitals each day during the most recent 7-day period (Feb 19-25), including 564 who were being treated in intensive care units. During the same period, there were an average of 52 COVID-19-related deaths reported daily.

While these surveillance data support that community-based measures are having an effect and that our collective effort is making a difference, it is crucial that strong measures are kept in place in order to maintain a steady downward trend. With still elevated daily case counts and outbreaks in high-risk populations and communities, including hospitals and long term care homes, correctional facilities, congregate living settings, Indigenous communities, and more remote areas of the country, the risk remains that trends could reverse quickly. This is particularly concerning in areas of the country where more contagious virus variants are spreading or where increased, unchanged or only modest declines in COVID-19 disease activity are being reported. These factors underscore the importance of enhanced public health measures where needed and maintaining strict adherence to individual precautions.

A range of public health measures are already in place across Canada as we continue our collective effort to interrupt the spread of the virus, including limiting the spread of more contagious variants, while we buy critical time for vaccine programs to ramp up. Canadians are urged to remain vigilant, continue following local public health advice, and consistently maintain individual practices that keep us and our families safer: stay home/self-isolate if you have any symptoms, think about the risks and reduce non-essential activities and outings to a minimum, avoid all non-essential travel, and maintain individual protective practices of physical distancing, hand, cough and surface hygiene and wearing a well-fitted and properly worn face mask as appropriate (including in shared spaces, indoors or outdoors, with people from outside of your immediate household).

Aiming to have the fewest interactions with the fewest number of people, for the shortest time, at the greatest distance possible is a simple rule that we can all apply to help limit the spread of COVID-19, while vaccine programs expand to protect all Canadians. 

Canadians can also go the extra mile by sharing credible information on COVID-19 risks and prevention practices and measures to reduce COVID-19 in communities and by downloading the COVID Alert app to break the cycle of infection and help limit the spread of COVID-19. Read my backgrounder to access more COVID-19 Information and Resources on ways to reduce the risks and protect yourself and others, including information on COVID-19 vaccination.

SOURCE Public Health Agency of Canada