Two COVID-19 vaccines doses isn’t fully vaccinated anymore: scientist

A toxicologist also reported Omicron now makes up 30 per cent of COVID-19 samples in Saskatoon's wastewater. Last week there was none.

The spreading Omicron variant means people with two doses of COVID-19 vaccines are no longer fully vaccinated.

That’s according to University of Saskatchewan epidemiologist Nazeem Muhajarine, who said the COVID-19 variant’s ability to evade vaccine-induced immunity means everyone needs a booster shot.

“The two-dose (or) one-dose primary series of vaccine doesn’t really mean that you are fully vaccinated,” he said.

And he added that everyone should get the vaccines as soon as possible because the Omicron variant is the most transmissible yet.

Though infections with Omicron appear mild — and he stressed scientists still need more information about the severity — Muhajarine said everyone should take the variant seriously.

That’s because it can still damage health or prove deadly and because Saskatchewan’s health-care system is recovering from the fourth wave.

“A small fraction of a very large number (of people needing hospitalization) is still going to be a large number of people needing hospital care in a system which is already exhausted,” he said.

Part of what makes Omicron spread so easily appears to be the speed with which it replicates and with which infected people display symptoms.