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Posted yesterday at 11:00 a.m.
Why take a booster shot when you just had COVID-19? What does it give, when we know that the virus will only come back around November-December if we look at the last two years, like winter viruses?
Steve Pelletier
As Easter approaches, many Quebecers who caught COVID-19 during the holiday season are wondering if the time has come to get their third dose of the vaccine.
According to serological studies, 30 to 40% of the population has contracted the virus since the start of the Omicron wave, which easily represents 3 million Quebecers. For those who didn’t have time to get the third dose, when is the best time to roll up their sleeve?
First of all, remember that the fact of having contracted the virus provides them with adequate protection. Even if the risks of reinfection are low, you can receive a booster dose within an interval of three months after having had the disease, according to the Quebec Immunization Committee.
But there is no press. Even if we are currently observing an increase in cases, “there is no problem waiting for the beginning of the fall”, indicates Gaston De Serres, doctor-epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ ).
Who knows, by next fall pharmaceutical companies may have developed a vaccine that targets the new variants, rather than the original virus.
For those who have received a third dose, the INSPQ also recommends setting up a vaccination campaign for a booster dose, the fourth, starting next September or a little later around mid-October.
This last option would allow the vaccine to be offered at the same time as the influenza vaccine, which would facilitate acceptability and feasibility. And that would provide optimal immunization as the return of indoor activities and the holiday season heighten the risk of contagion, as seen in December 2020 with the second wave and in December 2021 with the fifth wave.
But it is necessary to go as quickly as possible for the most vulnerable people, specifies the opinion of the INSPQ diffused Thursday 1. We are talking here about people who live in CHSLDs, RPAs or other closed environments where positive cases cause a commotion very harmful to the quality of life.
And it should be remembered that age significantly increases the risk of complications and death. Compared to people aged 0-59, the risk of death is 21 times higher among those aged 60-79 and 191 times higher among those aged 80 and over, indicates an analysis of the period from January 2 to March 12, 2022 .
These figures remind us of the importance of remaining vigilant with seniors, even if sanitary measures have melted as quickly as the snow in the spring.