WINNIPEG - Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal says not enough Manitobans are vaccinated yet to prevent a fourth wave of COVID-19, as the province releases new modelling for the pandemic.
Atwal says Manitoba's ICU admissions and a low seven-day average case counts remain stable — but the number of cases involving variants of concern is rising, and the vast majority of new cases are now among people who haven’t been vaccinated.
While Manitoba’s less than 400 total active cases are a huge improvement from the numbers seen only three months ago, when record numbers of more than 500 daily new cases were seen every day.
Just over 80 per cent of eligible Manitobans have gotten a single dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and just over 75 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Just under 20 patients are in ICU in connection with COVID-19.
Projections suggest that if a fourth wave happened during flu season, Manitoba’s health care system within two months could get overwhelmed. ICU patients could end up being sent to other provinces again to prevent bed shortages, and other adjustments such as surgery cancellations may need to be made again to free up beds.
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