Alberta hit by far more COVID deaths this year than in the same period in previous years

More than two years into the pandemic, Dr. Neeja Bakshi is still routinely breaking the painful news to families that their loved one is dying of COVID-19.

"It's not going anywhere. Knowing that we're going to continue seeing the devastation from this virus is hard to see," said Bakshi, an internal medicine specialist at Edmonton's Royal Alexandra Hospital.

"It's kind of demoralizing."

Alberta's COVID-related death toll so far in 2022 is higher than the same period in previous years of the pandemic.

There were 1,247 deaths between Jan. 1 and June 6 of this year, compared to 1,038 during the same time period last year and 152 in 2020.

"We've seen death from other viruses. We've seen death from influenza. We've never seen this amount of death," said Bakshi.

"I think the amount is still staggering for those of us in health care to see. That this is still a really potent virus. This is still a virus that can cause severe devastation."

Omicron has hit Alberta particularly hard. If you factor in both the BA.1, the original Omicron variant and its BA.2 subvariant — which swept through Alberta back to back during the early part of 2022 — it's been deadlier than the Delta wave in the fall of 2021.

"We're — in this current wave — seeing more deaths per capita than Ontario and Quebec," said Dr. Daniel Gregson, an infectious diseases physician and associate professor at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine.

"With the Omicron wave and our removal of all restrictions, we're seeing many more people becoming infected and as a result, we're having a bit of a large number of excess deaths relative to other years."

Similar trends have been reported in other jurisdictions including Massachusetts, he said.

There are several factors contributing to the high death toll, according to Gregson, including the sheer volume of people who've been infected with BA.1 and BA.2 and the province's low uptake of third doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Everyone 12 and older can book a third dose in Alberta at least five months after their second dose.

The fourth dose is available to all seniors 70 and older, First Nations, Métis and Inuit people age 65 and older, and all seniors in congregate care regardless of age, as well as individuals with certain immunocompromising conditions.