Canadian adults with COVID tripled during Omicron wave: study

A new study suggests the number of Canadian adults who tested positive for COVID-19 was three times higher during the fifth wave of the pandemic than the total number of adults infected in the previous four waves.

The latest edition of the Action to Beat Coronavirus study analyzed blood samples from over 5,000 Canadian adults from the Angus Reid Forum, a public polling cohort.

A lead author of the research said the participants’ blood samples were tested for antibodies related to COVID-19 to understand the scale of the virus’ spread during the fifth wave, and Canadians’ immunity to the virus through vaccination or natural infection.

Patrick Brown said the researchers found nearly 30 per cent of Canadian adults were infected during the first Omicron wave of infections, compared with approximately 10 per cent who had been infected in the first four waves.

Of those infections, one million were among the country’s 2.3 million unvaccinated adult population – representing 40 per cent of all unvaccinated adults.

Brown said antibody levels were much lower amongst adults with only two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine compared to those with three doses.