Volume 8 • 2021 • Issue 5

Some businesses now have mandatory vaccine policies, which make sense from a leadership standpoint. A business needs healthy employees to be able to function. According to polls, most Canadians want vaccination to be mandatory in many settings, especially in health care. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of the Canadian Dental Association. individuals progressing to the ICU following hospitalization are unvaccinated individuals who will require respirators, high levels of care, and often long hospital stays, which puts a strain on the capacity of our health care system. In some areas, we’re at 95% of emergency hospital capacity and we haven’t hit the peak of this wave yet. Q Have we learned anything new about COVID vaccines? AB: We knew that vaccines weren’t going to be a panacea, but they certainly have been very helpful. When the vaccines were first available, we hoped that if we had 70% of the population vaccinated, we’d make a huge difference in the progress of the pandemic. But with the Delta variant, we are learning that this percentage has to be much higher. I’m concerned when we look ahead to the fall and winter, the seasons in Canada when we traditionally have increases in respiratory illness. It is particularly important that we all remember that even if you’ve been double vaccinated, you can still acquire COVID. You can still become ill, and, most importantly, you can pass it to others. Back in May, we thought that vaccinated people were unlikely to transmit the virus. But that has been proven incorrect. We have to reconsider what this means for each of us. Parts of the economy that were in lockdown are opening up. Schools are reopening. That provides an opportunity for the virus to move through the population quite quickly. Another factor to consider is that waning immunity may require boosters. In Israel, data has suggested that a third dose of vaccine for people over 65 may be a good idea after about 6 to 8 months. But it’s not clear how long after the first dose. Many dentists in Canada will be nearing 6 to 8 months after vaccination in October and November. At that point, we might have to think about what activities we choose and about how we manage our lives outside of our offices. I wish that the COVID vaccines were completely effective in all people and that we could predict with certainty how long the immunity will last. But our COVID vaccines are not sterilization vaccines, where you don’t contract the illness (smallpox, for example) once vaccinated. The vaccine gives your immune system a snapshot of what the virus looks so that it primed to respond if it encounters its genetic footprint. The vaccine is definitely protective, and it is still the best defense we have. Q How do you think vaccine passports and mandatory vaccination will influence the next few months? AB: The goal of this public health measure is to reduce the number of times that vulnerable people potentially come into contact with vectors for infection. The intent is to limit possible exposures to the virus for people who could become seriously ill. It’s the same broad approach we had before vaccines were available: hospital capacity is finite, so we need to keep the number of people who are hospitalized low so that other essential health care is possible. Some businesses now have mandatory vaccine policies, which make sense from a leadership standpoint. A business needs healthy employees to be able to function. According to polls, most Canadians want vaccination to be mandatory in many settings, especially in health care. But there are always a small number of individuals who need an exception for specific medical reasons and can’t be vaccinated. I think that when vaccinations in Canada were in full swing at the beginning of summer, many of us felt that we were done with the pandemic, we could enjoy a loosening of restrictions, and we could stop thinking about the virus. But then numbers from around the world showed that the pandemic was not over, it has just entered a different phase. Q What does all of this mean for dentists? AB: I’m hearing from my colleagues that although many of us are very busy and working a lot, our activity is not necessarily equating with revenue in the way it did pre-COVID. This is just anecdotal, but I think many dentists are working longer hours and focusing on providing more care within one appointment in order to catch up with the backlog and be as efficient as possible. There are some numbers coming out of the US that suggests that the costs of running a practice are going up significantly. There are increased costs and different protocols that require more time and resources. It seems like inflation is having an effect on dental practices in the US. We hear the same concerns here in Canada. Personally, all these months into the pandemic, it still takes me longer to do things, from screening to enhanced infection control and prevention protocols to being mindful about donning and doffing as a routine part of the day. It remains a challenging time. My take-home message for my fellow dentists is that we need to remain vigilant, the protocols in our practices to prevent the spread of COVID are highly effective, and unfortunately even fully vaccinated people can spread the virus. 12 | 2021 | Issue 5 CDA atWork