The long-awaited bivalent Covid-19 vaccine will be available at vaccination centers across the province from this week. An innovation that could breathe new life into the vaccine campaign, Quebec hopes.
Published at 11.30 pm yesterday.
Health Minister Christian Dubey’s office confirmed Tuesday that the bivalent vaccine approved last week by Health Canada “will arrive at our vaccine centers this week.”
“We hear it on the ground: some people were waiting for their appointment for the new vaccine. We will continue to advertise to invite people to get their booster dose,” said the minister’s spokeswoman, Marjorie Cote-Poileau.
National Director of Public Health Dr.R Luc Boileau will be taking over the pandemic on Wednesday afternoon, the network told us.
Despite the campaign’s resumption within a month, the proportion of Quebecers who are up-to-date on vaccinations is declining as the popularity of booster doses weakens. Pres.
Public health recommends that adults get a booster dose even if it’s been more than five months since their last dose and they haven’t had COVID-19 in the past three months.
Quebec currently administers an average of 13,200 doses per day, down 28% from last week.
The province’s vaccine coverage is beginning to decline as some Quebecers seek booster doses. Fewer than one in four (23.6%) have now received up-to-date vaccinations, down from last week.
Even Quebecers aged 70 and over have the highest vaccination rates to date. As of last week, 75% of seniors had received a booster dose in the past five months. They are only 70%.
“We have already indicated that we expect continued and extended demand for several weeks”, argued Ms.me Cote-Boyleau. For three weeks, 320,000 people were vaccinated, and 430,000 in six weeks of summer. “After the announcement of the new vaccination campaign, we doubled the pace. »
Bipolar effect
The first bivalent vaccine approved in Canada against COVID-19, Moderna Spikevax Bivalent, received the green light from Health Canada last Thursday.
This vaccine, approved as a booster dose for people 18 years of age and older, targets both the original virus and the omicron variant (BA.1). It “produces a good immune response against Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subtypes” and “should prolong the duration of protection,” Health Canada said on May 1.R September.
The first deliveries to the provinces and territories “should be available” this week, with more expected in the next three weeks, Health Canada said by email.
Ottawa promises that the supply will be sufficient for “those 18 years of age and older who wish to receive this vaccine this fall and winter.”
In Quebec, the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) expects to receive approximately 2.7 million doses.
“A bivalent vaccine is sure to encourage some people to go and get vaccinated,” D predicts.R André Veillet is a researcher at the Montreal Clinical Research Institute (IRCM) and a professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Montreal.
On the other hand, “not everyone will run to get it,” he cautions. Some Quebecers who received three doses “decided they had done their part,” the researcher notes.
It’s a shame because people need to keep their vaccination records up to date.
DR André Veillet, researcher at the IRCM and professor in the Department of Medicine at the Université de Montréal
In addition to reducing the risk of serious illness and hospitalization, the booster dose “reduces the incidence of long-term COVID, which can be a big problem,” he recalled. It also offers some protection against infection and transmission, “especially in the first three to four months after dosing.”
In the United States, health officials are now banking on an annual anti-Covid-19 campaign like the flu vaccine unless a “very different” variant suddenly emerges, Agence France-Presse reported.
The pressure is off
The strain of COVID-19 on the Quebec health network continued to decrease during the long Labor Day holiday. A total of 171 hospital falls have been recorded in the last four days.
There are currently 1,557 people admitted to hospital, down 14% in a week. In intensive care, 34 patients represented a 31% drop at one week.
1 new death reported during the extended leave brings the daily average to eight, calculated over seven days. This trend is down 49% in one week.
The number of workers absent due to the epidemic also continued to decrease. 3,189 people had to self-isolate on Tuesday, a 12% drop in a week.
