Quebec toddlers will soon be protected from COVID-19. According to Prime Minister François Legault, the vaccination of children from six months to five years old should take off “as of next week”.
“There is a new vaccine that has been approved for children. We are working on that. We are going to have the OK from Public Health in the coming days, ”he said on the sidelines of a candidacy announcement in Montreal.
Health Canada gave the green light last week to a two-shot vaccine from Moderna that is specifically for toddlers. “Efficiency estimates [du vaccin] in patients aged six months to five years were similar to those in adults during the wave fueled by the Omicron variant, “assured the federal agency on Friday. This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in very young people.
Since then, Quebec has been waiting for the approval of its Committee on Immunization. “As of next week, we should start vaccinating for children,” maintained François Legault, who thus hopes to limit the transmission of the virus in the middle of the seventh wave.
“What we know is that even if young people, including young children, rarely suffer serious impacts, they are still in a position to transmit the virus to their parents, to their grandparents. It’s more like vectors of transmission, ”summarized the Prime Minister.
A plateau on the horizon?
Despite the marked increase in hospitalizations this summer, Public Health has not suggested that the government put in place new health restrictions, said the Prime Minister. “On the other hand, what we are asking is that people who have not been vaccinated, or who have not had COVID for three, four months, go get a booster dose,” added Ms. Legault, who must himself go and get a fourth dose in the coming weeks.
According to the Prime Minister, Public Health anticipates a “plateau” in the coming weeks.
While it remained around 60 at the beginning of June, the moving average of new hospitalizations has exceeded 130 in the last few days, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec. A total of 53 hospitalizations have been added to the covid balance sheet in the last 24 hours. Quebec also lists 20 additional deaths due to COVID-19.
More than 7,000 workers are currently missing from Quebec hospitals due to COVID-19. Added to this is a pool of health professionals on vacation. Mr. Legault assures that the network can hold out this summer, sometimes with “troubleshooting”. But several emergencies have already had to limit their opening hours.
“We want to make sure, among other things, that things go well in September. For the moment, yes, the hospitals are overloaded, but we still manage to provide services, ”said the Prime Minister on Wednesday.
By fall, the Ministry of Health and Social Services will resuscitate the “double time” bonus, which allows caregivers who work overtime to be paid directly in double time rather than “time and a half” . The goal: to fill the void created by sick leave and holidays.
The national director of public health, Luc Boileau, must provide an update on the management of the COVID-19 pandemic this afternoon.
With Maxance Cloutier