The Delta Variant and New Brunswick Children Under 12

New Brunswick is in the midst of the Delta-driven fourth wave of COVID-19, a crisis compounded by the fact that the Delta variant is infecting more children than the original strain and there is still no vaccine available for children under 12. At a press conference in Fredericton on Friday, Dr. Gordon Dow, an infectious disease expert with Horizon Health, explained why the Delta variant is infecting more children and leading to more serious side effects in young people.

"What we are learning is that the Delta variant affects children efficiently," said Dr. Dow. "They usually don't get particularly sick with it, but some will, and some will get long-haul symptoms. Children also transmit it just as easily as an adult."

Although Dr. Dow said there has yet to be a child under 12 hospitalized for COVID-19 in New Brunswick, hospitalizations and deaths of younger COVID-19 patients is a trend worldwide as the fourth wave takes hold. New Brunswick reported the death of a person in the 40-49 year old age group on Sunday to the virus. Although New Brunswick introduced a proof of vaccination program last week along with the return of the masking mandate, it could be weeks before we see case numbers drop due to just how much transmissable the Delta variant is.

"This virus sticks to our cells better and is twice as infectious," said Dr. Dow. "Because it's more infectious, it has a shorter incubation period, which makes contact tracing more challenging because we have less time to work with. The original strain has an incubation period of six days while the Delta variant has an incubation period of four days. The Delta variant also seems to have a higher rate of hospitalization and death, especially among the unvaccinated."

Dr. Dow says getting two doses of a vaccine is the best defense against the Delta variant, and the higher our community vaccination rates are, the lower the burden of virus will be on children under 12 who still aren't eligible for a vaccine. With promising trials of the Pfizer vaccine on younger patients, however, Dr. Dow said he is hopeful the vaccine could be available for 5 to 11 year olds in Canada as early as a month from now.

With over 40 people in the province in hospital with COVID-19, the province has returned to a state of emergency with New Brunswickers once again being asked to stick to their household bubble and a list of a steady 20 close contacts.

"We knew there would be more cases, but the pace of this fourth wave is beyond what we anticipated," said Chief Medical Officer of New Brunswick Dr. Jennifer Russell at a press conference in Fredericton on Friday.

New Brunswick will stay in a state of emergency until hospitalization numbers drop below 10 and will return to a state of emergency if and when hospitalizations reach 25. New Brunswick is inching towards having 80% of the eligible population fully vaccinated but a 90% community vaccination rate is now needed against the Delta variant, especially when it comes to protecting those under 12 who are, for the time being, still ineligible for the vaccine.