Prime Minister Justin Trudeau along with some of his cabinet ministers speaks at a press conference in Ottawa on Feb. 14, 2022. (Photo by DAVE CHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on June 13 that he has contracted COVID-19 for a second time and will be isolating after returning from his trip to the United States.
“I’ve tested positive for COVID-19. I’ll be following public health guidelines and isolating,” Trudeau said on Twitter.
“I feel okay, but that’s because I got my shots. So, if you haven’t, get vaccinated – and if you can, get boosted. Let’s protect our healthcare system, each other, and ourselves.”
Trudeau received his booster dose on Jan. 4 this year and announced later that month he had tested positive for COVID-19.
“Everyone, please get vaccinated and get boosted,” Trudeau tweeted at the time, as the trucker-led Freedom Convoy demanding the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions was settling in Ottawa.
Trudeau received support from his caucus members, some of whom have also contracted COVID-19 recently.
“Sad news, but glad to hear that you’re feeling okay. I wholeheartedly agree with your message – vaccines make all the difference. Get well soon!” tweeted Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos on June 13.
Duclos announced he had COVID-19 on June 4 and would be isolating for 10 days.
With pressure mounting in recent days for the government to drop federal vaccine mandates and travel restrictions, one Conservative MP took a swipe at Trudeau for maintaining federal vaccine mandates while he caught COVID-19 himself.
“Trudeau contracted covid while travelling internationally but continues to discriminate against unvaccinated Canadians so ‘we can stop the spread’. Sorry, the farce is over! #EndTheMandates,” wrote Chris Warkentin on Twitter.
Trudeau visited NORAD installations in Colorado last week and then went to California to attend the Summit of the Americas.
‘Game Changer’
The Omicron variant appeared in late 2021 and became the dominant variant across the world. Its ability to bypass vaccine protection has led to many breakthrough infections among the vaccinated.
Canada’s chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam called Omicron a “game-changer” during the House of Commons health committee meeting on June 8.
Tam said a booster is needed against Omicron to “boost your immunity against infection” and for protection against “serious outcome.”
The UK Health Security Agency’s COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report published May 12 provides some recent figures on vaccine effectiveness against Omicron.
It says the effectiveness of a booster ranges from 60 to 75 percent after two to three weeks and then falls to “almost no effect” after 20 weeks.
Individuals who received a booster dose have accounted for double or triple the COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people compared to the unvaccinated or fully vaccinated in Quebec and Ontario in recent weeks. However, a bias could be present in the data because those who decide to receive a booster are likely more at risk from or fearful of COVID-19 and hence more likely to take a test.
Tam told the health committee that even three doses provide only temporary protection.
“Given the reduced vaccine effectiveness, even with three doses against the Omicron variant, vaccines cannot prevent all transmissions alone, so a layered approach has to be considered including layering mask-wearing,” she said in response to a question from NDP MP Don Davies about whether there was still a medical or health basis to the federal vaccine mandate in travel.
