After François Legault in the role of bad cop, here is Lionel Carmant in that of good cop.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This is one of the best ways to sum up the strategy currently deployed by the Quebec government to encourage the unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves.
Two weeks after the Prime Minister announced his intention to impose a health contribution on those who refuse to be vaccinated, now his minister Lionel Carmant is reaching out to them.
And that’s absolutely… what had to be done!
It makes sense to go step by step.
It is still important to do everything possible to convince those who have not yet received a first dose. It is a moral obligation.
Among adults, there are about 540,000. This is still too many.
These Quebecers are overrepresented among patients hospitalized due to COVID-19. And they make up about half of those who end up in intensive care.
As Lionel Carmant said, “every dose given will be a gain”.
It should be noted, moreover, that the Minister’s benevolent tone on this issue is perfectly in line with the “positive” aspect of the approach put forward.
It also fits with the idea that it is essential to establish a relationship of trust with Quebecers who have not yet received a first dose.
These are not all irreducible enemies of vaccines who drink in conspiracy theories relayed by social networks to the detriment of public health.
Three groups have been identified by Quebec.
First those who refuse to be vaccinated.
Then the “marginalized” population, for example for questions of language barriers, in the case of cultural communities, or literacy.
Finally, the most vulnerable Quebecers.
Access to vaccines for these last two groups is often difficult, for all sorts of valid reasons.
The minister’s positive approach means, so to speak, that he intends to treat the unvaccinated with small onions.
Essentially: go out to meet them and try to reassure them.
In particular, we announced the creation of a telephone line where health professionals can answer the questions of all those who are still hesitant to get vaccinated.
But above all, pop-up clinics will be set up over the next few weeks in certain places, in Montreal and elsewhere in Quebec, where there is a higher proportion of unvaccinated people.
It’s not new.
Several major players in the Quebec philanthropic community sponsored vaccination awareness initiatives last year in certain territories where there were many unvaccinated people. Their experiments – which took the form of the vaccine brigades mentioned by Québec solidaire – which were crowned with success, demonstrated that the community sector must be mobilized.
Minister Carmant would do well to draw inspiration from this model, which bore fruit last year.
It would be wise to inject the necessary funds and call on community leaders.
What Quebec should have done earlier, by the way.
Because in the fall of 2021, the private financing of the initiatives in question ended and the actors involved tried to convince Quebec to take over… in vain.
However, we should have seized the ball on the leap and continued these efforts. It is true, however, that Omicron was not yet in the picture.
Minister Carmant’s vaccination strategy goes hand in hand with the deployment of new incentive measures. In particular the obligation to present his vaccine passport, since Monday, in supermarkets.
Minister Dubé also pointed out that on the same day, more than 3,000 people received their first dose. That’s “at least double” the previous day, he said on Tuesday.
Let’s not be fooled, though. the bad cop will inevitably take the place of good cop in the next weeks. The CAQ should soon provide details of the announced health contribution.
Because if the soft method is currently used by Quebec to convince the unvaccinated to protect themselves against COVID-19, it is also probably because it will be easier, after the fact, to justify the use of the strong method. .