Manitoba’s COVID-19 case fatality rate has dropped 60% since year one of pandemic

In the first year of Manitoba’s pandemic, which began with the province’s first case on March 12, 2020, 2.8% of Manitobans who contracted COVID-19 succumbed to the disease, according to CBC analysis News from public health statistics.

It was the second highest case fatality rate among Canadian provinces, as only Quebec experienced a deadliest first year of a pandemic.

Manitoba’s case fatality rate from COVID has since fallen to 1.1% for the second year of the pandemic so far, according to the same statistics.

The vaccinations – along with a demographic shift brought about by the way vaccinations were deployed – have reduced the COVID case fatality rate in that province by more than 60%.

In the simplest possible terms, vaccines do what public health officials hope they will do: save lives.

“The cases do not have the same meaning as before the vaccinations. The pathology is alleviated with vaccinations, ”said Fatima Tokhmafshan, geneticist and bioethicist from Montreal who leads community outreach activities for the Coronavirus Variants Rapid Intervention Network.

The relationship between vaccinations and reduced case fatality is not a simple matter of infection prevention.

Manitoba’s decision to vaccinate older members of the general population before younger people have placed the burden of COVID infections on those most likely to survive the disease, said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, professor of medicine and expert in Infectious Diseases at the University of Alberta.

“I think the change in lethality is really a consequence of this shift in activity from the older, high-risk population to a younger population that is less likely to die when infected,” Saxinger said.

“When you look at who’s infected, it’s an unvaccinated population, but it’s a younger, unvaccinated population.”

Better results for the vaccinated

At the same time, vaccines also confer greater protection against severe cases of COVID-19 in those who contract the disease even if they are vaccinated.

“For people infected after being vaccinated, which includes some of the most fragile people, the elderly and people with health problems, they still have better results than they would otherwise because the vaccine protects against serious illnesses for most, if not all of these people, ”Saxinger said.

Manitoba public health data shows that the few dozen fully vaccinated COVID patients who died from the disease tended to be older.

Of the 1,015,877 Manitobans who were fully vaccinated as of November 13 of this year, 35 have died from COVID-19, according to the province’s latest COVID-19 epidemiological report.

Of these 35, one was in his forties, two in his fifties and seven in his sixties. The remaining 25 were 70 or older, according to the report.

“One of the things that’s been really reassuring about vaccines is that while we know they don’t protect against all infections, they so clearly protect against serious consequences,” said Dr Joss Reimer, Manitoba vaccine medical officer. implementation team.

Nonetheless, the waning immunity conferred by a double dose of COVID vaccines has led the province to encourage older Manitobans and people with certain health conditions to receive booster shots six months after their second dose.

“This is where the recall becomes important to keep this case fatality rate low,” she said.