François Legault received his fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine on Friday, on the eve of the start of the fall election campaign being prepared by Public Health. He called on all Quebecers vaccinated for more than five months to get a booster dose.
Posted at 2:32 p.m.
“We are monitoring the situation closely and things are going relatively well in Quebec, but COVID-19 is still present. It’s important for everyone to understand that after five months, the vaccine loses its effect,” the Prime Minister said in a brief statement to the media while receiving his vaccine at the Chauveau clinic. , in the East of Montreal.
He indicated “that there is currently room” in the vaccination centers in Quebec, thanking the staff and the nurses for their work since the start of the pandemic.
To the youngest, Mr. Legault also sent this message: “I know that they are less at risk, but it is still important to be united and to be vaccinated to reduce the contagion”.
“It is together that we will win this battle. Unfortunately, it is not over, but it is much more under control than what we experienced in the first months of the pandemic,” he added, before concluding, with reference to the electoral campaign in view: “we’re going to see a lot of people in the coming weeks, so you have to protect yourself”.
In the entourage of Mr. Legault, it is indicated that the latter wanted above all to “show the example”, whereas as of August 15, people who reside in CHSLDs, in private residences for seniors (RPA) or in other living environments will be able to receive a new booster dose, as announced on Friday by the national director of public health, Dr.r Luc Boileau. The rest of the campaign will unfold in the order of priority that was established in previous campaigns. Public Health aims to open vaccination to the entire population by the end of September.
Always in slow motion
For now, the vaccination campaign has been idle for a dozen days in Quebec. The province administers an average of 8,500 doses per day, down 10% over a week. This decrease is mainly attributable to the number of people coming to pick up their booster dose, which is rapidly decreasing. And conversely, very few toddlers come to be vaccinated, a little less than 500 every day.
To date, 83.7% of Quebecers have received two doses, but only 53.0% three and 17.4% four. As for toddlers, eligible for vaccination for ten days, only 1.3% of them were vaccinated.
Remember that the spread of COVID-19 and the pressure exerted by the pandemic on the Quebec health network continue to decrease. The province reported a drop of 27 hospitalizations on Friday, but 14 more deaths.
Thursday, the Dr Boileau had indicated that he does not plan to restore mandatory measures such as wearing a mask, which Mr. Legault also reiterated on Friday. “We will see how it evolves in the coming weeks, if we are dealing with a new variant […] We will pay attention to that. But for the moment, it is not in our sights to bring back obligations”, had declared Mr. Boileau.