Flu and COVID-19 | General vaccination begins Tuesday in Quebec

(Montreal) Vaccines against the flu and against COVID-19 will be administered at the same time to all Quebecers who wish them starting this Tuesday in Quebec.

A first wave of vaccination began several days ago in accommodation settings such as CHSLDs and seniors’ residences (RPA).

Citizens can make an appointment to receive vaccines on the Clic Santé website.

During a recent press conference, the National Director of Public Health, D^r Luc Boileau, recalled that the people most at risk or those around them can develop more complications due to the flu and COVID-19, be hospitalized and, for some of them, die. Vulnerable groups are people aged over 60, pregnant women, immunocompromised people and people with chronic illnesses.

The Quebec government will offer some 150 points of service for vaccination, but does not plan to recreate massive sites as was done at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal at the worst of the COVID-19 crisis.

It will also be possible to obtain both vaccines in pharmacies and the Association of Banners and Chains of Pharmacies of Quebec (ABCPQ) announced that vaccination against COVID-19 and flu will be offered free of charge in 1,473 pharmacies in Quebec from Tuesday on.

The launch of this campaign coincides with the arrival of new vaccines developed to counter the multiple variants of COVID-19, including the XBB.1.5 sub-variant which is growing strongly. The latest Moderna vaccine is among these and Pfizer-BioNTech’s Comirnaty, which has obtained the green light from Health Canada, must also be made available.

The D^D Caroline Quach-Thanh, pediatrician, microbiologist-infectious disease specialist and president of the Committee on Immunization of Quebec, recalled for her part that the vaccine does not or only slightly prevents catching one of the diseases, but that its benefit is offer protection for six months against complications, hospitalizations and deaths.

The vaccination campaign will be entirely financed from the envelope of 270 million set aside in the last budget of the Quebec government specifically to carry out vaccination campaigns.