How well has Canada fought the COVID-19 pandemic? 3 experts participate-nationwide

As a new case of COVID-19 (new coronavirus infection) (# If there is no character limit, add parentheses when it first appears With a surge across Canada, the federal government and states are imposing stricter measures to limit the spread of the disease.

The Canadian Press interviewed three major Canadian experts in disease management and epidemiology, asking for ideas on how to respond to a Canadian pandemic, new restrictions on activities, and what else can be done. This is what they had to say.

John Brownstein, Montreal-born Harvard Epidemiologist, Chief Innovation Officer, Boston Children’s Hospital

In Canada, having a national testing strategy that uses rapid testing that people can do at home will limit the spread of the virus, says Brownstein.

“It gives us insight into the infection and actually isolates people,” he says.

Such tests have not yet been approved in Canada.

“Since we’ve been saying this all the time, it’s not just a purely Canadian issue, but having a strategy to implement that kind of information is a great way to reduce community infections while waiting for a vaccine. It will help. “

According to Brownstein, the curfew has unintended consequences because it forces people to gather during the short hours of the day.

“There was little evidence that the curfew pushed down the infection.”

He states that the best way to prevent outbreaks when international travelers return from a pandemic hotspot is a combination of inspection and quarantine.

He says the test alone is not enough, as the test can return negative during the incubation period of the new coronavirus. It should be noted that people rely on test results that can give false reassurance.

Brownstein said pandemic fatigue is a reality and government support for those suffering from the crisis should continue.

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He also states that it is important to promote low-risk activities such as walking and outdoor exercise.

“Whatever we can do to allow people to spend more time outside is probably better.”

David Junker, Professor of Medicine, McGill University and Dean of Biomedical Engineering

Canada needs a national strategy on how to use rapid testing for the virus that causes COVID-19, Junker says.

Juncker is an advisor to Rapid Test and Trace, an organization that advocates large-scale rapid diagnostic systems throughout Canada.

“Initially, the Government of Canada opposed (talked to) (quick inspection) and then pivoted in October or September,” he says. The federal government then purchased thousands of rapid tests and sent them to less-used states.

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“Every state is trying to come up with its own way of running its own pilots. There is a lack of exchange of information and a lack of guidelines on how to optimally deploy them,” he said. Says.

Junker says the swab-based test regime collected at the central test site worked in the summer but collapsed in the fall.

He says medical professionals prefer these tests because they can detect more accurate and lower levels of the virus. This is important for diagnosis, but with proper use, rapid testing can be of great public health benefit.

A federal advisory board report released Friday shows the best use of different types of tests, he says, and is the first step in the right direction.

“I’m glad to see a slow transition from the perspective of’should I use rapid tests’. From the perspective of (of),’How can I use them best?'”

More recent studies suggest that rapid testing is more accurate than previously thought, he says.

“We still don’t have enough ability to test everyone, so we need to use them in a strategic way.”

Junker states that the blockades in Ontario and Quebec must have occurred in the early fall, when incidents began to increase.

He states that late blockades in Canada are not as effective as in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Korea where early blockades effectively stopped the spread of the disease.

“The countries that were most aggressive early on were, I think, the ones that gave the best results.”

He states that countries with fragmented health decisions across the country, including Canada, are adding challenges.

“If you live in Ottawa Gatineau, you’re allowing one thing in one state and another in another, which creates confusion among the citizens,” he said. ..

Donald Shepherd, Chairman of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, McGill University School of Medicine and a member of the COVID-19 Treatment Task Force in Canada:

Shepherd said Canada’s federal and state sharing of power over health care is extremely inefficient and poses major problems.

“Communication has many disruptions and many territorialisms, which have had a major impact on the efficiency of our responses,” he says.

The problem of long-term care facilities is one example.

“Quebec is screaming for money, but they refuse to sign on to the minimum standards of long-term care,” he says. “I think it’s evil.”

He says that highly centralized authority and decision-making have had a breathtaking impact on innovation.

“It caused disability and lost the attempt to be innovative and agile in Canada’s healthcare system,” he says.

Shepherd believes Canadians will not be vaccinated in large numbers this summer and is optimistic about the September schedule that the federal government is talking about to vaccinate everyone. I am.

“Remember that no vaccine is approved under the age of 11,” he says. “There is still an opportunity for the virus to spread to children, especially in the school environment.”

He suggested that the goal of the current vaccination campaign is not herd immunity, but the elimination of viral infections and the extinction of rendering.

“The goal here is to create an immune barrier around the” susceptibility “of our population so that it becomes the same public health-critical virus as influenza. “

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