'It's OK to get infected' comment from official not helpful in COVID fight, Winnipeg doctor says

A suggestion by Manitoba's deputy chief provincial public health officer that "it's OK to get infected" with COVID-19 is raising eyebrows among some medical professionals — including a Winnipeg doctor who says that messaging isn't helpful.

On Friday, Dr. Jazz Atwal announced that some Manitobans — including anyone 65 and older and Indigenous people 18 and older — will be among the first in the province eligible for an updated vaccine from Moderna that targets both the original strain of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and its Omicron variant.

When asked to describe the current spread of COVID-19 in the community, Atwal said the focus should be on severe outcomes from the illness, rather than the number of active infections.

He drew a comparison to common colds to make his point.

"Before COVID … colds went around. Most people did well. Some people still ended up in hospital back then. That was a severe outcome," he said at a Friday news conference.

"There's such a focus on infection right now occurring, but it's OK to get infected," said Atwal. "You're building your natural immunity, so that's good."

Manitoba is not seeing the level of severe outcomes from COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant compared to earlier variants, according to Atwal — in part because vaccine uptake in the province has been good.

Focusing on how many people have an active infection in Manitoba rather than severe outcomes "does not help the situation at all," he said.

But Dr. Jillian Horton, a hospital-based specialist in internal medicine in Winnipeg, says there's a risk that comes when health leaders minimize COVID-19 infections.

"The problem I have with framing it that way is it doesn't really give people the full picture," she said in an interview with CBC News on Saturday.

The province has encouraged COVID-19 vaccination, she notes, and "certainly reassurance, where appropriate, is an important part of communicating with the public."

But, she said, "the bigger picture is it would be much better if you hadn't gotten that infection in the first place."

A Winnipeg epidemiologist said while getting infected with COVID-19 could bring some immunity, it's still best to avoid getting infected at all.

Responding in an interview Friday to the province's recommendation that people wait to get booster shots until the bivalent vaccine becomes available, Cynthia Carr, the founder of EPI Research in Winnipeg, noted that "the vast majority of us have probably been infected with Omicron at the very least," which leads to some level of immunity.

"That is not at all a recommendation to become infected — but it is a fact, particularly if you've had … at least two or three vaccines with that, you have hybrid immunity," she said.

'Infections do matter': Stanford researcher

Horton said she takes some hope from a well-vaccinated population in Manitoba, and more vaccine developments likely on the horizon.

But infections are certain to increase once kids head back to class, she said, and indoor masking and improving the quality of indoor air should continue to be a top priority heading into the fall.

She fears Atwal's comment may minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection, which is not "helpful to people as they try to navigate what personal decisions are right for them, especially knowing that we have really abandoned broad-scale public health strategies to try to mitigate the spread of COVID."

The comments could have a negative effect on people's behaviour, she said.

"So then you have people who previously were concerned … maybe they walk away from that and say, 'Well, why would I upgrade my ventilation at my own personal expense, at my business or my place of work, if it's fine? Why would my kid keep masking indoors if it's fine?'"

Dr. Abraar Karan, an infectious disease doctor and medical researcher at Stanford University, also took issue with Atwal's comments in an exchange with Horton on Twitter.

"Infections do matter," he tweeted in a reply to Horton.

There are still significant risks from the illness for vulnerable people, according to Karan, and it is "best to have humility" regarding the unknowns surrounding COVID-19, especially in public communications.

"Comparisons to common colds [are] also not too helpful," Karan tweeted. "Investing in public infrastructure for clean air is key."