When will the new vaccination campaign begin in Quebec?
The date is still to be determined. Details will be announced in the coming weeks, says Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services. Health Canada is currently reviewing submissions from Pfizer and Moderna for COVID-19 vaccines targeting the KP.2 strain. Health Canada is also evaluating a vaccine from Novavax targeting the JN.1 strain. “Pending regulatory authorization from Health Canada, the Government of Canada is working closely with provinces, territories and vaccine suppliers targeting the KP.2 variant to facilitate sufficient vaccine supply to support their COVID-19 vaccination campaigns,” Health Canada said in an email to The Press.
What is the advantage of the new vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna?
Currently, many cases of COVID-19 in Quebec are linked to the new KP.3 variant. “What is good is that the vaccines currently being prepared include the KP.2 variant, which is very close to what is currently circulating in the population,” explains Dr.r Nicholas Brousseau, a specialist in preventive medicine at the INSPQ. People vaccinated with the updated formulation should therefore benefit from a better immune response against the variants in circulation. These vaccines were approved Thursday in the United States.
Is COVID-19 still circulating?
Yes, says D.r Brousseau. “COVID-19 is very much present, and there has even been an upward trend in recent weeks,” he says. This increase may be caused by the arrival of the new KP variants. “The good news is that with all the vaccinations we’ve had, and the fact that people have already had COVID-19, sometimes several times, we’re no longer in the same place as before. Often, the episodes [d’infection] are much less serious than what we initially saw,” he said.
Since COVID-19 cases are much less severe than at the beginning of the pandemic, is the vaccine still necessary?
Yes, for some groups, says D.r Brousseau. “There are still people who are at high risk of ending up in the hospital if they have COVID-19. It’s extremely important for those people to get vaccinated this fall,” he says. The two main groups are people aged 60 and over and people of all ages who have chronic diseases such as cancer, heart or lung disease or diabetes. “Young, healthy people have a much lower risk of contracting a serious illness. So it’s a personal choice to get it,” he says.
How long does the vaccine protection last?
In general, the vaccine is effective for six months. “If people get vaccinated this fall, it still allows them to be well protected during the most critical period of the fall and winter when, often, we are really in the peaks of COVID-19,” says Dr.r Brousseau. However, the duration of protection may vary depending on the new variants in circulation.