Experts say Canada is experiencing a summer wave of COVID-19, similar to trends in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Doctors advise that if people have cold-like symptoms, there’s a good chance it could be COVID-19, and they should get tested.
Andrew Pinto, a family doctor and public health specialist at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, notes that COVID-19 doesn’t follow a seasonal pattern like the flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). While COVID-19 is typically active in the fall and winter alongside the flu and RSV, it also spreads in the summer. This may be due to decreased immunity as it has been a long time since many people’s last COVID infection or vaccination.
Although COVID-19 is spreading this summer, it is not causing a significant wave of hospitalizations, thanks to the protection from past vaccinations. Health Canada is currently evaluating potential COVID-19 vaccines for the fall that target circulating variants, including the JN.1 and KP.2 strains.
In addition to wastewater data indicating an “upward trajectory” in COVID-19 activity, Pinto has observed more patients with the virus in his family practice clinic. “One of the really unique things about COVID is that it surprises us in ways other respiratory pathogens haven’t,” he said. “It is spreading even without the very cold dry air and many people indoors, which is typical for respiratory pathogens like influenza and RSV.”
Dr. Fahad Razak, the former scientific director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table, added that coronaviruses have historically spread year-round and do not follow a seasonal pattern.
