Omicron wave in Ontario long-term care homes blunted by vaccines, boosters, province says – CBC

Infections compared to first pandemic wave, but deaths were a fraction of 2020 totals

Feb 23, 2022

Ontario long-term care homes where the majority of residents have three or four COVID-19 vaccine doses, have been spared mass deaths during the Omicron wave despite infection levels similar to those seen in early 2020, according to new figures from the province.

New data from the province shows 6,572 residents caught the virus between Dec. 15, 2021 and Jan. 29, 2022 — more than the 6,001 infections confirmed during the first wave that ended in August 2020. But during the recent time period noted (Dec. 15, 2021 to Jan. 29, 2022) COVID-19-related deaths of 251 people were reported, compared with those of 1,940 people during the first wave.

Also in contrast to the first wave, the deaths represented a fraction of Ontario’s total COVID-19 mortality in December and January. There were over 1,440 deaths attributable to COVID-19 during those two months in the province, according to CBC tracking, with January the second deadliest month of the pandemic in Ontario.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/ontario-ltc-omicron-wave-1.6361479