Share this Story: Experts weigh in on COVID-19 fatigue, fifth wave confusion
Experts weigh in on COVID-19 fatigue, fifth wave confusion
"Because there's not a strong, consistent message from our policymakers, our leaders, people are just going with what they want to."
Zak Vescera
Jan 11, 2022 • January 11, 2022 • 4 minute read • Join the conversation
In the absence of a clear goal, some experts worry people have tuned out COVID-19 guidance. Photo by Matt Smith /Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Epidemiologist Dr. Nazeem Muhajarine spent the holidays with his family indoors, playing board games — including, to his chagrin, one called "Pandemic."
"It wasn't my idea, let it be known," he said. "It turns out Pandemic is a very hard game to win."
Experts weigh in on COVID-19 fatigue, fifth wave confusion Back to video
The metaphor was not lost on Muhajarine, a University of Saskatchewan professor who serves as a member of a nationwide alliance of researchers investigating COVID-19 variants of concern. The latest variant, Omicron, has overwhelmed public testing systems, driven case counts to new highs and demoralized an exhausted public.
Muhajarine and other researchers worry Omicron's meteoric rise, coupled with muddled government messaging, is causing COVID-19 fatigue to give way to fatalism — the attitude that getting the virus is inevitable.
Researchers say that's not true, and that limiting its spread is still vital to protecting the elderly, immunocompromised people and those who are not vaccinated — each of whom is much more likely to require hospitalization if they become ill.
"The fatalism approach of 'We're all going to get it eventually' doesn't have to be true,' " U of S epidemiologist Dr. Cordell Neudorf said in a recent interview.
Johnson Shoyama School of Public Policy professor Dr. Cheryl Camillo, also a researcher on the national variants network, said she believes confusion in the fifth wave of COVID-19 is a product of conflicted messaging. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe, for example, has said the Omicron variant is less severe, which is why Saskatchewan was the only province in Canada without any gathering restrictions over the holiday season.
But chief medical health officer Dr. Saqib Shahab told reporters last week that people should ideally not gather indoors at all, except for essential reasons like work or school.
"There's a lot of different messages out there. And because there's not a strong, consistent message from our policymakers, our leaders, people are just going with what they want to," Camillo said.
She worries the resulting confusion is broad, public demoralization.
"I feel as if it's the end of the third period of a hockey game and our team has been trapped in our defensive zone for a two-minute shift, and is just scrambling around, always behind the puck and not getting the puck out of the zone because everyone is so exhausted," she said.
Epidemiologists like Neudorf say the general public should not assume they are back in March 2020. Vaccines offer a great deal of protection against the most severe outcomes of Omicron, he noted. And while the variant causes less severe illness than the Delta wave that buffeted Saskatchewan in the fall, Neudorf said there is still value in keeping it away from at-risk populations where it could do the most damage.
"I think we still have to keep in mind the same principles we've been applying for the past two years," he said.
"This is still COVID we're talking about. When exposed to a positive case of this Omicron variant, the unimmunized are still at the highest risk of infection. The partially immunized are at the next level, and those with a booster dose are the best protected."
Muhajarine added that Saskatchewan is still in the early part of its Omicron wave. A large share of people infected so far have been in the age category of 20-39. Muhajarine noted they are the most likely to have jobs requiring them to come into contact with the general public.
On Tuesday, nearly 46 per cent of the 1,027 new confirmed cases were in that age group. As it spreads to older demographics, Muhajarine said the hospitalization toll is likely to rise.
"How can I be guaranteed that I'm not going to be the victim of serious COVID?" he said.
Some researchers also believe the decline in public morale isn't as sharp as anecdotal evidence might suggest.
University of Regina professor Dr. Gord Asmundson said in an email that the Omicron wave — and subsequent mixed messaging — have caused more burnout, fatigue and stress. But his research on so-called COVID fatigue — the gradual loss of adherence to rules over time — suggests that most people continue to follow guidelines.
"So, our findings suggest that pandemic fatigue affects a substantial minority of people," said Asmundson, a co-head of the Psychology of Pandemics Networks, a group of American and Canadian researchers examining COVID-19's psychological effects.
"The majority, despite uncertainly and while experiencing stress and frustration, are doing their best to do what is required of them."
zvescera@postmedia.com
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