Public Health and the Quebec Immunization Committee recommend a booster dose for vulnerable children between 5 and 11 years old. However, it will be available next week for all young people in this age group.
Quebec public health authorities will provide an update on Wednesday morning on the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in Quebec.
The press conference, which will begin at 11:00 a.m., will be hosted by the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau. He will be accompanied by Dr. Marie-France Raynault, senior strategic medical advisor from the Public Health Department of the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS), and the pediatrician, microbiologist-infectiologist at CHU Sainte-Justine. and President of the Quebec Immunization Committee (CIQ), Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh.
A week ago, the Ministry of Health and Social Services launched a new massive vaccination campaign, first targeting long-term care centers (CHSLD), residences for the elderly (RPA), citizens aged 75 and over, isolated communities and healthcare workers.
Since Monday, other groups of the population have been targeted and vaccination clinics have been opened. Last week, Minister Christian Dubé planned to set up about 150 vaccination clinics, some of them large, claiming to be able to vaccinate some 300,000 people a week during this new campaign.
For her part, Dr. Quach-Thanh recalled that the current vaccine has been proven to reduce the risk of serious complications and hospitalization, even with the latest subvariants.
In addition, Health Canada on Friday approved a first booster dose for children between 5 and 11 years old, made with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI), a federal organization, has recommended its administration, but Quebec has not yet pronounced on this subject.