The respiratory virus season is off to a strong start with nearly 100,000 Quebecers infected per day, according to estimates from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ). The spread of COVID-19, which has been increasing in recent weeks, is approaching that observed last winter.
Around 670,000 Quebecers were infected with a respiratory virus during the week of September 17 to 23, according to a survey conducted by the INSPQ. Currently, COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are circulating among the population.
“Compared to the week of September 3 to 9, the number of new cases of acute respiratory infections has increased significantly,” we can read on the INSPQ website.
According to Alain Lamarre, research professor specializing in immunology and virology at the National Institute of Scientific Research (INRS), this increase is not surprising, although it arrives quite early in the fall season. “School has started again, there is more contact in classes and infected children are spreading respiratory viruses throughout the household,” he explains.
The wave of COVID-19 is also particularly strong, already approaching the spread observed last winter. No less than 20.3% of tests carried out over the past week have been positive, the highest rate observed since the Omicron wave of December 2021.
A thousand hospitalizations
Over the past week, 4,090 new cases have been detected by PCR tests. We have to go back to last January to count more cases. In hospitals, there are currently 1,314 people hospitalized with COVID-19. But of this number, only 27 are in intensive care.
This low incidence of serious cases could be attributed to hybrid immunity, explains Mr. Lamarre. “The population has acquired a form of immunity which persists over time due to vaccination and several infections. This immunity gives us adequate protection against severe forms of the disease, but it does not protect us against infection as such,” he says.
Furthermore, the sub-variants currently circulating do not seem to cause more serious illness than the previous ones, adds Mr. Lamarre.
Vaccination on our doorstep
The fall vaccination campaign against COVID-19 should begin on October 10 in Quebec. Quebec plans to offer vaccines as a priority to vulnerable people. The national director of public health, Dr Luc Boileau is expected to announce the details of this vaccination campaign during a press conference in the coming days.
Health Canada authorized a new version of Moderna’s Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine this month. This new vaccine targets the Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant which appeared in early 2023. “The vaccine will update our immunity and should better protect us against the disease,” says Mr. Lamarre.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommends getting this new vaccine dose six months after the last COVID-19 inoculation or infection.