The vaccination campaign against COVID-19 and influenza is now launched, Quebec announced Monday, while the most vulnerable can already make an appointment. The general population will be able to do so from October 16.
Vaccines against COVID-19 and influenza already began to be administered last week in several residential and long-term care centers (CHSLD) in the province, said the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, during a press briefing Monday in Montreal.
But, starting this Monday, people at risk of developing complications if they contract these viruses are invited to make an appointment to be immunized free of charge. “So they have priority right now,” said Dr. Boileau. The doses will be administered at the hundred local service points (PSL) in Quebec and community pharmacies.
In Quebec, the presence of COVID-19 remains “high,” indicated Dr. Boileau. “In the community, we are monitoring the situation closely. But it must be said that it is stable, it is not increasing at the moment, and it has even fallen a little. But it remains high. »
If the levels of contagion are similar to those of two years ago, the current situation is obviously no longer that of a “pandemic crisis”, underlined the national director of public health.
“Our approaches have changed and I hope for the better,” he said. From now on, the population is invited to behave according to flu symptoms which can have an impact on the most vulnerable. “When we are feverish, when we are sick, we pay attention to ourselves, but to others too. »
Dr. Boileau also warned Quebecers against screening tests which can give a “false sense of security”. “Having a negative test for COVID-19 does not mean that you do not have another infection. We should not think that it is just COVID-19 that we want to protect ourselves from. »
However, screening tests remain relevant for vulnerable people who currently have symptoms of respiratory viruses. They make it possible to confirm the infection and begin treatment as quickly as possible, argued Dr. Boileau.