Quebecers between the ages of 12 and 17 will be able to get a booster dose if they wish. This is what the Minister of Health and Social Services Christian Dubé has just announced, based on an opinion from the Committee on Immunization of Quebec (CIQ).
The CIQ recommends that a booster dose be given to young people at higher risk of complications from COVID-19, such as those with diabetes, neurological disorders, immunosuppression, cancer, obesity as well as kidney, lung or cardiovascular disease.
Young people who live in closed collective settings should also obtain a third dose “because of the particularly high risk of transmission”, indicates the CIQ in its opinion.
Following an opinion from the Quebec Immunization Committee, children aged 12-17 will be able to receive a booster dose.
As for the rest of the population, the booster dose provides greater vaccine protection against the Omicron variant. https://t.co/cZv8D82rep— Christian Dubé (@cdube_sante) February 18, 2022
The committee also recommends that the booster dose can be offered to “all adolescents aged 12 to 17 who have no contraindications and who would like an additional dose”. He explains that studies in adolescents “show a decrease in vaccine protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection over time”.
“Even if there are no data on the effectiveness of booster doses in young people aged 12-17 years, it is expected that a booster dose will restore vaccine efficacy at least in the short term against the Omicron variant,” he explains.
According to the CIQ, the third dose should be given three months or more after the second injection or an infection.
In its scientific opinion, the committee points out that there is little data on the safety of booster doses in 12-17 year olds. “Concerns about the occurrence of myocarditis or pericarditis associated with the messenger RNA vaccine are still present, it is written. The available data show that the rates of myocarditis or pericarditis reported after a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine are comparable to the rates observed during the administration of the primary series. »
The CIQ therefore continues to recommend, for this age group, the use of the Pfizer vaccine rather than that of Moderna, “due to a slightly lower risk of myocarditis post-vaccination with this vaccine”.