“Because we are deconfining, there are even more people who will have it, the COVID”, underlined Tuesday Christian Dubé.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
The report of the Minister of Health is implacable.
This does not mean that the announced relaxations are not welcome. On the contrary. Everyone wants to get out of the tunnel.
It does mean, however, that getting a third dose of the vaccine, if our second isn’t yesterday and you haven’t been infected with the virus recently, is crucial.
And perhaps even, under the circumstances, even more than before.
At first glance, this may seem counter-intuitive.
After all, we have just been told that almost all measures will be lifted by March 14.
The health crisis is not over, however – hospitalizations, moreover, could still climb.
And we would be wrong to forget that these relaxations are possible, precisely, largely thanks to the success of the vaccination campaign.
Also, while it is true that almost everyone has seen relatives and friends infected with the Omicron variant and that in most cases the symptoms were mild, it should also not be forgotten that vaccination often has something to do with it.
Vaccine effectiveness
Much of the government’s discourse for some time has revolved around the idea that we are gradually witnessing a transfer of responsibility: every Quebecer will now have to manage the risks associated with COVID-19.
In this sense, the most effective risk management tool for everyone remains, to this day, the vaccine.
“We will have to learn to live with the virus. And the best way is obviously to get your three doses, ”repeated François Legault on Tuesday.
However, we cannot say that we are noticing a real enthusiasm these days for the third dose.
According to the figures we have obtained, of the 678,539 appointments available across Quebec for vaccination over the next seven days, only 143,920 have been booked. We are talking about 21% here.
Of course, we assume that many Quebecers do not use this system and will prefer to go to one of the walk-in clinics.
We also understand that a large number of Quebecers have been infected since the holidays. They will therefore have to wait between eight and twelve weeks before their third dose (even if they can make an appointment, in advance, now).
Nevertheless, the gap continues to grow between the supply of vaccines and the demand. And that the vaccination rate of Quebecers for the third dose seems to show that there are still gains to be made.
Overall, approximately 3.9 million Quebecers have their three doses, or 48% of the population (aged 5 and over).
So far, it is the 60s and over who have answered the call with the most enthusiasm, since 82% of them have already had their third dose.
Good, they are the most vulnerable.
However, additional efforts should be made quickly to increase the vaccination of seniors at home, as Dr. Réjean Hébert recently pointed out.
It is not forbidden to think that we could approach the two-dose vaccination coverage rate in this age group, which is currently 94%.
Note also that only 53% of 40 to 59 year olds and 31% of 18 to 39 year olds rolled up their sleeves a third time.
We can certainly do better.
Scientific support
Let’s finish by specifying that scientifically, the importance of the third dose is more and more obvious.
Several studies have confirmed that it reduces the risk of being infected and, even more, the risk of developing a serious form of the disease and being hospitalized.
“After a second dose, when time is allowed to pass, there is a decrease in the level of antibodies and the immune response, but this is restored by a third dose”, explains doctor Raymond Tellier, microbiologist at the McGill University Health Center.
He also believes that we should now “consider that a complete vaccination is a vaccination that requires three doses”.
While the relaxations will multiply, it would be logical and useful to summarize what we know and what the experts recommend to us with a simple formula: never two (doses) without three.