Don't play 'roulette' with getting COVID-19, Sask. expert says

A new poll suggests most Canadians believe they will contract COVID-19, though more than one-in-three people in Saskatchewan believe they can still avoid infection.

According to the online poll done by the Angus Reid Institute, 55 per cent of those surveyed expected to get COVID, specifically the Omicron variant, regardless of the precautions they take.

That number rises to 63 per cent among parents of children in grade school.

The poll also found men are more likely than women to believe there’s nothing that can stop them from getting Omicron.

Regionally, Manitobans have the strongest belief that infection is inevitable at 64 per cent, while people in Saskatchewan are most likely to believe they can still take steps to avoid infection with 37 per cent.

Saskatoon resident Andrea Edwards, who has type one diabetes, contracted COVID-19 in May. She said she had a mild infection and is not concerned about contracting it again.

“I feel like a lot of people are being a little bit safer. I know I’m being safer,” she said.

“I do realize it’s worse for other people who are more vulnerable … I’m scared for other Canadians, not necessarily myself.”

Josh Atkinson said he is concerned about contracting COVID, especially as the more transmissible Omicron variant dominates.

“I think it’s something that’s bound to happen sooner or later but lots of people are thinking they’re going to get it and get it over with,” he said.

Dr. Cory Neudorf, professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan, is warning people not to become complacent and try to intentionally get COVID just to “get it over with.”

“I would not describe the Omicron variant of COVID as a mild disease. It’s still severe, it’s just less severe,” he said.

Neudorf said even if you don’t end up getting sick enough to go to the hospital, you could end up with long-term symptoms that last months or develop other diseases like diabetes.

“Who would want to voluntarily essentially play roulette with ‘I won’t be one of those? If you become positive, then anyone who’s around you, you can further perpetuate this and spread it to others who may not be as fortunate as you are. So, you could be contributing to someone else’s serious complication or hospitalization.”

Neudorf said natural immunity has been shown to not be as effective as vaccine immunity for many of the previous strains of COVID-19.

“That immunity wanes after a while and you’re still susceptible again to subsequent waves that might come forward. So far it’s been shown that the best chance you have is getting immunized and getting that third dose, that booster dose so that you can do everything you can to protect yourself.”

The poll also found that Saskatchewan (44 per cent) and Manitoba (42 per cent) residents are most likely to want their governments to have restrictions that do more to help curb the spread of COVID-19.

With no new restrictions added in Saskatchewan despite recommendations from the province’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab to limit gathering sizes to 10 people, Neudorf said it’s likely 30 to 50 per cent of people in Saskatchewan could get infected with Omicron.

“We do in fact have mask mandates still in place. We do have proof of immunization for accessing certain types of services. Those all reduce the likelihood of this to spread, but not enough to actually have a flattening of that curve yet,” he said.

“I think far stronger messages around gathering restrictions and cancelling large events would also help right now. Some people are acting that way already but it always helps when that’s enforced by strong government messaging and restrictions being announced.”

Neudorf said it’s important for people to continue taking proactive measures and to be more vigilant these next few weeks.

“It’s not inevitable, it’s just the likelihood is increased that if you’re dropping your guard at this point, a smaller exposure could lead to infection of this Omicron variant.”