Quebecers will have access, starting Thursday noon, to Moderna’s new bivalent vaccine, which targets both the original strain of the virus and that of the Omicron family. The National Director of Public Health, Dr.r Luc Boileau, announced it Wednesday during a press briefing on the evolution of the situation of the COVID-19 in Quebec.
“The bivalent vaccine will be available from noon tomorrow in the vast majority of vaccination centers in Quebec,” he said. The arrival of bivalent is of course good news. »
Moderna’s new vaccine generates “1.6 times more neutralizing antibodies against Omicron variants” compared to the booster dose of the original version, explained the DD Caroline Quach-Thanh, President of the Quebec Immunization Committee (CIQ), who accompanied Dr.r Boileau at the press briefing.
“As it is a bivalent BA1 vaccine, the response [immunitaire] against the BA4 and BA5 variants is a little less good”, however qualified the DD Quach-Thanh.
The Dr Boileau invites Quebecers who received their last dose more than five months ago to get vaccinated, according to the recommendations issued for their condition. He recalled that the virus is still circulating even if the number of cases is down, especially among health personnel (3,400 absent, “much less than a few months ago”, he rejoiced).
The health situation should continue to improve over the next two weeks, according to the National Institute of Excellence in Health and Social Services. The latest projections, made public on Wednesday, predict “a drop in new hospitalizations”. The number of regular beds occupied by patients with COVID-19 is expected to be around 1150, with a confidence interval between 1012 and 1240.
On Wednesday, the Quebec government reported 1,635 hospitalizations (an increase of 78 hospitalizations from the previous day) and 13 deaths, none of which occurred in the last 24 hours.
Moderna’s bivalent vaccine was approved by Health Canada last Thursday. Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said a total of 10.5 million doses were expected by authorities by the end of September, and Health Canada said it expected supplies would be sufficient to update the vaccination of all Canadians aged 18 and over.