The fourth dose is not officially recommended

From Monday, 4^And The dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is accessible to those 60 years of age and older, but this booster dose is not officially recommended by the Comité sur l’immunization du Québec. However, this “sluggish” condition is not unanimous among experts, and some worry about the confusion it can cause. Newspaper Make the point.

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4 What Public Health Says About^And Dose 60 and above?

“The ministry has announced that we recommend vaccinating people 60 years of age and older, but only for those who prefer 2^And Booster dose can access it, ”said Gaston de Ceres, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health in Quebec and the Quebec Immunization Committee (CIQ).

“Benefits seem to us far less than other groups such as those aged 80 and over”^And The dose is recommended, he adds.

Most studies, after a certain period of time, show a decline in the effectiveness of vaccines against the infection, but the epidemiologist explains that the reduction in protection against hospitalization associated with severe forms of the disease is “extremely low.”

Should healthy people over the age of 60 be vaccinated?

Comments are divided. “There will be a gain, but it won’t be that big,” D says^R. De Ceres, because the sixth wave is already going well. “It is better to get vaccinated before the tide of infection,” he notes.

Alain Lamar, an immunology and virology specialist at INRS, on the contrary, confirms that the gain is very real.

According to a study released earlier this week New England Journal of Medicine4^And In people 60 and older, up to six weeks after injection, the level of protection against severe forms of the disease quadruples.

He says there is a “significant benefit” in getting this booster dose as the immunity provided by the third dose decreases over time.

Can accessing Paxlovid avoid the need for booster doses?

No, according to the advice of two experts.

Paxlovit is effective in preventing severe forms of the disease, but only if given quickly.

However, rapid tests make it more difficult to quickly detect the BA.2 subtype, which can take several days to obtain a positive result.

Access to the drug, which will be available in pharmacies from April 1, is reserved for those at risk of complications.

Should we be afraid of repeated vaccinations?

Other than the already known side effects, there is currently no indication that short-term administration of the fourth dose of the vaccine will alter the immune system against Covit-19, says Gaston de Ceres.

For his part, Alain Lamare believes that this continuum of vaccines will lead to “less effectiveness over time”, although this has not been proven.

Because the benefits outweigh the risks, he considers a person 60 and over to have “not much to lose” by gaining his 4s.^And Dose.

A minimum of three months interval between medications is required.