The Public Health Agency of Canada, along with provincial and territorial partners, are closely monitoring health data in relation to a rare heart condition and mRNA vaccines.
In a June 3 COVID-19 update, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw said the World Health Organization, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the European Medicines Agency are reporting cases of myocarditis and pericarditis following COVID-19 mRNA vaccination.
“It's important to remember that these are rare reports of a condition that is known to happen due to other triggers, so it is not clear yet what link, if any, is with vaccines,” she explained.
The conditions are a response from the body’s immune system and are a response from an infection or another trigger and often affect young males. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscles, whereas pericarditis is inflammation of the heart's outer lining. It is not yet known if there is a link between the mRNA vaccine and these conditions.
Hinshaw said they had not yet had any reports of either condition after the vaccine.
“Canada is not seeing higher rates of these conditions than would typically be expected in the general population,” she said.
Alberta has vaccinated more than 2.8 million people, with 44,000 people being vaccinated on Wednesday. The province is reporting 64.6 per cent of the population age 12 and up has received at least one dose of the virus, and 11.3 per cent has received both doses.
Hinshaw reiterated the importance and safety of the vaccines, calling them remarkably effective.
Since Jan.1, 96 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 cases have been from unvaccinated Albertans or those who had received their first dose with two weeks of vaccination. Only 0.2 per cent of people who had one dose of the vaccine got COVID after the two-week period.
“This shows you the power of the vaccine at preventing infection,” she stated.
Hospitalizations showed similar data. Since Jan. 1, 93 per cent of people who ended up in the hospital due to COVID-19 were unvaccinated or had only just received their first dose. A majority of the people who have died from the virus since January – 88 per cent – had not been vaccinated or had been within the two-week time frame.
“We can expect both the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 to decrease even more, as more of the population is protected by first and second doses.
At one dose, the mRNA vaccine is 73-per-cent effective against infection with the B117 variant, and 75-per-cent effective against infection in terms of the P1 variant. At two doses, the mRNA is 91-per-cent effective and 89-per-cent effective against the B117 variant and P1 variant respectively.
“Vaccine effectiveness estimates for AstraZeneca vaccine and effectiveness against other emerging variants aren't yet available for Alberta due to limited sample sizes,” she said.
Since Wednesday, case investigation teams have also restarted second calls for variants of concern.
“The second notification will allow AHS (Alberta Health Services) to do even more in-depth investigations to find out wherever the case may have been exposed,” Hinshaw explained.
Alberta saw 296 new cases of COVID-19, for a total of 5,831 active cases, over the last 24 hours preceding Thursday's press conference, and completed 6,800 tests, for a positivity rate of 4.6 per cent. There have been 305 cases identified as being variants of concern; however, those cases span back historically.
Overall, there are 411 people in hospital with the virus and 120 of them are being treated in the ICU. In Alberta, five more people died from the virus, bringing the total to 2,236.
St. Albert has seen 2,782 people recover from the virus. The current active case number is 53. There have been no new deaths in the city and the number remains at 45.
Sturgeon County continues to have 36 active cases, with 960 people having recovered from the virus. No new deaths were reported in the county or in Morinville. Three more people have recovered from the virus in Morinville, with only three active cases being reported.
