Watch Live: CityNews at Six Calgary

‘October is going to look about the same’: COVID deaths show no sign of slowing in Alberta

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – COVID could be here for at least another century. An infectious disease expert in Alberta is issuing a sober reminder, as people in this province try to push through the fourth wave of the pandemic and deaths continue to mount.

“COVID will be here, probably, for the next 100 to 200 years,” said Dr. Dan Gregson with the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.

He wants people to know we are not out of the woods yet, even as vaccination rates slowly start to improve.

“Assuming that things stay level or even decrease a little bit, October is going to look about the same as September, in terms of the number of people who pass away from COVID,” Gregson said.

In September, 259 Albertans who had the virus died. It was the deadliest month since January, before vaccines were widely available.

Of particular concern over the past 30 days has been the impact on younger people, with more people under the age of 60 dying, including some without pre-existing conditions. The youngest person to ever die from COVID-19 in Alberta was an 18-year-old woman who passed away in September. The virus has been spreading like wildfire among younger populations.

Related video: ‘Healthcare is in crisis:’ Nurses plea for help amid staffing shortage

There’s hope new rules such as a vaccine passport system and other public health measures will help stem the tide, but Gregson says we are still about a week away from fully determining if they are working.

In addition, since deaths are a lagging indicator in this pandemic, we cannot expect to see the death rate slow down immediately.

“Many older people — individuals over the age of 80 — either don’t want or aren’t offered the opportunity for ventilation. So, you’ll see that those younger people who pass away sort of drag out over time,” Gregson said. “We’re going to have problems with people passing away for a while.”

Related articles:

While September was not the deadliest month on record, it did see the most overall infections as hospitalizations and ICU admissions hit dubious record highs as well.

There is hope that this continued impact and the effect the Delta variant is having on younger populations can finally drive home the importance of getting vaccinated for people who remain hesitant. But Gregson says he isn’t holding his breath.

“I would have thought that what we saw in Italy and New York in 2020 would have got the message across,” he said. “(COVID) will circulate both in people who are immunized and people who are un-immunized, travellers, things like this. At some point in time, you will get COVID and it’s just a matter of what your outcome will be when that happens.”

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today