More and more vaccinated Quebecers have been affected by COVID-19 since the appearance of the Omicron variant, which is said to be the most contagious to date.
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“Omicron is three to four times more contagious than [variant] Delta, which was already very contagious ”, affirmed the retired virologist Jacques Lapierre, on the waves of TVA.
The chances of getting infected are 2.2 times greater for unvaccinated people compared to those who are.
And vaccinated individuals appear to be more physically affected than in recent waves when they contract the virus.
Perfect storm
As of December 16, nearly half of people hospitalized in Quebec due to COVID-19, or 149 out of 312 patients, had received their two doses for more than a week.
Of the 91 hospitalizations among those under 60 years of age, 18 referred to people who had been doubly vaccinated.
This is a “perfect storm”, according to Dr Stone.
This is because in addition to the increased contagiousness of the new variant, the effectiveness of vaccines seems to be weakening in the population.
“What we see in scientific articles is […] that it would seem that after four months there is already a decrease [de l’efficacité] that starts, ”he explained.
Third dose
“We must accelerate [l’inoculation] of the third dose, argued the virologist. It seems to bring immunity down to a fairly high level. ”
Doubly vaccinated people are, however, always better protected against hospitalization and serious illness.
The probabilities of hospitalization for the unvaccinated are also always 15 times higher, according to the Ministry of Health.