Quebec lists just over 1,600 medical exemptions to vaccination against COVID-19. A figure considered “very small” by the experts, which seems to indicate that the exemption certificates were not granted too freely. This contrasts with the situation in Ontario, where the authorities had to intervene to curb the agreement, too lax, of medical exemptions.
The Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) has indicated to the Duty that as of December 16, a total of “1,641 people [avaient] an exemption listed in the Quebec Vaccination Register” which allowed “obtaining a vaccine passport against COVID-19”.
Of this number, some people may have nevertheless received one or more doses of vaccine, specifies the spokesperson for the MSSS, Marie-Louise Harvey. Some exemptions may also be temporary, if the individual concerned was awaiting a medical evaluation by a health professional.
The vaccination passport is required for 13 years and over. Quebec has 7.3 million people aged 15 and over, according to projections by the Quebec Institute of Statistics. The body’s data is aggregated by age group and does not offer a breakdown of the number of 13- and 14-year-olds.
According to the D.r Gaston De Serres, medical epidemiologist at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) and member of the Committee on Immunization of Quebec (CIQ), “1600 out of more than 7 million people, this remains a figure which is quite limited”. “And that shows that the exemptions were likely given in a well-targeted way. “
The Ministry of Health provides for two contraindications justifying a medical exemption from vaccination: a confirmed serious allergy to all the vaccines against COVID-19 available in Quebec, and a history of myocarditis or pericarditis related to the administration of a messenger RNA vaccine. Doctors can also grant a waiver in rare cases of “significant behavioral disorder such that it is not possible to give an injection even after trying in a reassuring environment”, explains Dr.D Caroline Quach-Thanh, who was herself consulted by patients requesting a medical exemption.
The microbiologist-infectiologist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Center claims to have granted “four or five”. “I think most of the doctors who gave it were very respectful of the real risks versus the benefits,” says Dr.D Quach-Thanh, who is also a member of the CIQ. “I don’t think there were any certificates of convenience. “
The Press reported two weeks ago that a third of Quebecers who claimed a medical exemption had obtained it.
Investigations and Prosecutions in Ontario
In the neighboring province, the granting of medical exemptions has been a problem this fall.
The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario took the trouble to remind its members in September that a limited list of contraindications warranted medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccination. The College has since turned to the courts, its spokesperson Shae Greenfield confirmed to the Duty, in order to force four of its members to cooperate in an investigation into their granting of medical exemptions. Three others are also under investigation, in particular because they would have granted unjustified medical exemptions to vaccination or wearing a mask. Of these seven doctors, two have had their licenses temporarily revoked, while four others have had their licenses tightened.
“We found that some doctors were giving an exemption to anyone who asked them,” said a senior Doug Ford government official. Toronto Star, mid-December.
The College of Physicians of Quebec did not observe the same differences. “The College has not been informed that there is currently a problem in Quebec regarding the issuance of medical exemptions,” said its spokesperson, Leslie Labranche. There has also been no filing of a disciplinary complaint in this regard, she added.
In Quebec, for an exemption to be recognized and entered in the vaccine passport, Public Health must approve it as well as the official form completed for this purpose by the physician.
Ontario tightened its rules in this regard at the beginning of January, and now also requires that medical exemptions be entered on the vaccine passport and therefore approved by Public Health. Previously, the population could simply present a doctor’s paper.
The Ontario Ministry of Health has refused to release the number of medical exemptions identified in the province, despite repeated requests from the Duty.