COVID-19 'not going away' but something 'we're going to manage:' Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang

The World Health Organization saying COVID-19 is no longer a health emergency is a "very positive milestone," the Region of Waterloo's medical officer of health says.

"What it means is that we are shifting away from a singular emergency response to integrating COVID monitoring and response into routine public health programs," Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang said in an interview Wednesday morning on CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's The Morning Edition with host Craig Norris.

Wang says people in Waterloo region should keep in mind that COVID-19 continues to circulate, although its impact has been decreasing in recent weeks locally.

"It's still in our wastewater and there are still relatively elevated levels, but the impact has decreased in terms of severity, the number of outbreaks, things like that," she said, adding that's expected at this time of year as cold and flu season wanes.

The region continues to update its COVID-19 dashboard and noted that as of last Friday, there were no patients in the intenstive care unit at local hospitals. There were seven active outbreaks: Six in long-term care and retirement homes and one in a congregate setting.

Wang said new variants will continue to emerge and there will be seasonal resurgences, which can be particularly troublesome for older people and those with serious medical conditions.

"So it's not going away," she said. "But it's something that we're going to manage going forward in a way that we manage other respiratory illnesses in that there are things that we can do to protect ourselves from getting severely ill."

LISTEN| Dr. Hsiu-Li Wang says end of COVID-19 as a health emergency a 'very positive milestone':

When to get your next shot

One of the reasons Waterloo region's residents have done well through these later waves of COVID-19 is because many people did get the vaccine and followed other protective measures such as masking, keeping a distance from others, washing hands and staying home when sick, Wang said.

But as of last week, just 10 per cent of Waterloo region's population were considered up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccines. Across the province, Public Health Ontario says 23.9 per cent of the population have received the primary series of COVID-19 vaccines and two boosters.

Wang said it can get confusing to know what number of shots you're supposed to have right now.

"If you had had a dose after Sept. 1, and you're not high risk, you should be good and there will probably be recommendations coming for the next booster for the next respiratory season," Wang said.

But for those who are high risk aged 65 and older, having severe medical conditions or are pregnant "then you should get a spring booster," Wang said.