Health committee  Well, as I think I said last Friday in my epidemiology update, the next weeks are very crucial, because we'll be seeing the trajectory of the omicron wave, and we should then be able to re-evaluate some of the border stance.

Health committee  Yes, so with such a huge number of cases, of course, it's very difficult for any jurisdiction to manage the testing at the moment. It's not just the number of tests kits handed out or anything like that. It's actually human resources—people in labs getting sick and that type of thing.

Health committee  I alluded to this earlier. When we review the actual scientific base, the period of communicability for omicron is actually not that different from the other viruses. An individual who is infected, for example, is still capable of shedding the virus and communicating this even up to the 10 days.

Health committee  I do want to emphasize, because I didn't have a chance to do so at the end of my responses, that there have been preprints, including from Simon Fraser University, that show a cumulative gain of up to 5% in provincial vaccination rates as a result of the vaccination requirements.

Health committee  There are studies that—

Health committee  We have been following the data and the science. I believe our National Advisory Committee on Immunization has given us really great advice. We haven't just charged into giving a fourth booster dose, and our vaccine intervals are great. I actually don't think there's necessarily evidence to say that you couldn't have more boosters.

Health committee  With regard to vaccine mandates, we've been trying to follow, within our program area, what the changes might have been, given some of the announcements by the provinces and territories and, of course, also the federal government. They do seem to boost the level of uptake. That can be to a different extent, depending on the jurisdiction.

Health committee  —come back down again, of course. I have to add that we know that the Canadian population has some of the highest vaccination coverage already, so even those few percentage gains are quite significant gains. I think overall Canada has done quite well.

Health committee  You have to take a very holistic approach, I think, to increase vaccine coverage. Addressing vaccine hesitancy is one of them, particularly in providing the information that an individual needs to make that decision. There's also access to the vaccine. Indeed, access to information, access to the vaccine, combatting misinformation and disinformation—they are all very important.

Health committee  That is part of the data that is being collected.

Health committee  Yes. May I answer the question, Mr. Chair?

Health committee  Yes. On average, we have been doing over 148,000 or 150,000 tests, with any rate-limiting steps not necessarily related to the number of tests that can be run but related to human resources and other testing capacity challenges within the provinces and territories.

Health committee  Where there's a very transmissible virus, the likelihood of contracting it is much higher than with other variants. I do think that people still have varying risks, but the likelihood is much higher.

Health committee  On the latter, yes, there have been ongoing serologic surveys. That's why I also mentioned earlier on that it would be very important to know after this omicron wave what kind of immunity there is in the population. But we also have to remember that the immune system is a complex thing, and so protection from infection is different from protection from serious outcomes.

Health committee  Yes. I think the committee has noted that we need to strengthen Canada's health system, and my report is focused on the public health system, but it's part of the health system as a whole. Given the enormous challenges of the pandemic, my message is also to recognize the prevention, health promotion and preparedness aspects, not just the response.