The Quebec government will launch a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 as soon as a new vaccine becomes available in October.
Obtaining an additional dose this fall is recommended for vulnerable or at-risk people, including people aged 60 and over, as well as occupants of CHSLDs and seniors’ residences. The influenza vaccine will be offered at the same time.
The National Director of Public Health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, anticipates an increase in cases of COVID-19 during the start of the school year. For the past three weeks, the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections has been increasing in Quebec, as has that of hospitalizations related to the disease. As of August 22, 637 Quebecers with COVID-19 were hospitalized, including 17 in intensive care.
“These are not staggering increases”, nuances the Dr Boileau, who spoke with The duty. “We see this upward trend, but it will not, in our view, bring us back to what we have experienced in the waves we have been exposed to – for example the Omicron wave of December 2021 and January 2022. We do not won’t be there. »
The “vast majority” of Quebecers under the age of 60 have already been infected with the virus, indicates the Dr Boileau. However, this is not the case for a large proportion of seniors. “Between 20 and 25% of people aged 70 and over have never had COVID,” indicates the national director of public health, who relies in particular on seroprevalence studies from Héma-Québec. “At 65 and over, we are in 15 to 20%. »
According to Public Health and the Quebec Immunization Committee (CIQ), obtaining an additional dose is “particularly important” for members of high-risk groups — including seniors — who have never had COVID-19. Their protection against the disease, which is conferred only by vaccination, is “less robust”, writes the CIQ in its scientific opinion published on Wednesday.
“The most protective immunity in terms of complications and death is hybrid immunity, that is to say a combination of vaccination and infection”, says the president of the CIQ, the DD Caroline Quach-Thanh, in interview with The duty. According to her, the new vaccine will, however, “protect well” high-risk groups against hospitalizations and deaths.
Quebecers who are not targeted by the vaccination campaign will also be able to be vaccinated this fall; a minimum interval of six months since the last dose is recommended. Public Health does not plan to visit schools to immunize students against COVID-19.
An effective vaccine against Eris?
Will the new vaccine be effective against the subvariants circulating this fall? The products Moderna and Pfizer are developing target XBB.1.5, a subvariant of Omicron. However, it is another sub-variant of Omicron, called Eris (EG5.1), which is gaining ground in the province: it represented 31% of cases as of August 12, according to the Dr Boileau.
In a press release published last week, Moderna reported that, according to preliminary data, its vaccine can counter Eris. “They did laboratory tests and vaccination with XBB.1.5 develops a good level of neutralizing antibodies against EG5.1”, specifies the DD Quach-Thanh.
The Dr Boileau believes the new vaccine “should also be effective” against BA.2.86, a new subvariant sosurveillancebecause it is “in the same line as the XBB”.
The national director of public health reminds Quebecers to stay home when they have a fever. “If you feel able to go to school or work, you can do so, but with a mask for the duration of the symptoms and trying, if possible, to avoid contact with people. more at risk. »
