Federal health officials are bracing Canadians for another round of COVID-19 vaccines expected to roll out in the fall, and are urging those behind on their boosters to catch up now.

Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam says circulating Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5 are even more transmissible and able to evade immunity than previous versions, making a rise in cases likely in coming weeks.

She and Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos are stressing the importance of up-to-date vaccination status, noting 40 per cent of Canadians still have not received a booster following their primary two shots, putting us behind other G7 countries when it comes to three doses.

Tam is also warning of a possible COVID-19 resurgence in the fall and winter, and says new guidance on a fall booster program should help reduce severe outcomes and ease potential strain on the health-care system.

In a release Wednesday, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization advised jurisdictions to prepare to offer another round of shots to people at increased risk of severe COVID-19 illness, regardless of the number of booster doses they’ve already received.

That includes people 65 years of age and older, residents of long-term care or living facilities, and those 12 years of age and older with an underlying medical condition that places them at high risk of severe COVID-19.

(The Canadian Press)