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What to know about the latest COVID subvariant
The rapidly spreading EG.5 subvariant of COVID-19 has found its way to Canada and may soon become the dominant strain, according to experts.
EG.5 is a descendant of the XBB Omicron strains that have dominated viral transmission in recent months, but it appears to be spreading more rapidly than its predecessors.
“It definitely grows at a faster rate than the other variants do,” explained Gerald Evans, chair of infectious disease in the department of medicine at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. “And it looks like by the time the fall comes around, it’s going to be the one that we are going to see most of all.”
EG.5 has been circulating in Canada since May, and its prevalent lineage — EG.5.1 — was predicted to be circulating in Canada at approximately 19 per cent between July 30 to Aug.5, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told Global News in an email.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday classified the EG.5 strain as a “variant of interest.” It has not been listed as a variant of interest or concern by Health Canada.
Although the subvariant is gaining momentum in other countries as well (it has become the dominant strain in the United States), the WHO said the public health risk posed by EG.5 is low.
Read more about the EG.5 subvariant and what Canadians can do to protect themselves.
Postpartum depression and fathers
It’s a topic that many people do not talk about, yet its impact is deeply felt and often overlooked – the experience of postpartum depression (PPD) and fathers.
Drew Soleyn, a father from Kingston, Ont., encountered this challenge firsthand when his third child was born. He was feeling frustration, isolation, waning motivation and self-doubt about his parenting.
After some time, Soleyn realized he may have been suffering from PPD.
“I had a partner who had it, but I didn’t recognize the signs,” he said. “And then as a result, it became something that I was going through too and I thought, ‘What’s going on here? This is really, really difficult.”
PPD is a type of clinical depression that occurs after childbirth and is followed by feelings of sadness, hopelessness, a lack of interest in activities, fatigue and changes in weight and appetite, according to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).
Paternal postpartum depression occurs among 10 per cent of men between the first trimester and up to one year postpartum, according to CAMH.
Read more about the risks, symptoms and treatment for PPD in men.
— THE TOPIC —
What to know about fall COVID-19 boosters
— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —
The fall season may be more than a month away, but health experts are already urging the public to prepare for the upcoming surge in respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
Although reported cases of COVID-19 remain low in Canada, that trajectory is likely to change with the virus rates increasing in the fall, particularly among children, as they congregate in schools and other indoor spaces, said Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital of the McGill University Health Centre.
“I think most people expect that there will be a certain amount of seasonality to COVID-19, and we do expect that the case counts will rise in the fall and winter,” he told Global News in an interview Wednesday.
Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) released fall booster guidance last month, recommending a dose of the new formulation of the COVID-19 vaccine for the authorized age groups.
An Omicron-containing bivalent vaccine is currently available to Canadians, but NACI anticipates that new vaccine formulations could be available this fall.
Dr. Prabhat Jha, an epidemiologist at Unity Health Toronto, recommended anyone who is due for their booster, including children, get their shot at the end of August or in September.
While children “very rarely” get sick from COVID-19, the virus can spread to their parents or grandparents who are more vulnerable to the virus, he said.
While an Omicron vaccine is ideal, any booster that is available is going to be effective at reducing infection, Jha added.
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