It was exactly three years ago this Saturday that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was notably highlighted by the federal Minister of Health, Jean-Yves Duclos, as part of what has become the third National Day of Remembrance for COVID-19.
“We remember the more than 51,000 people who have died from the disease and we recognize those who are still suffering the severe consequences,” he said in a statement released Saturday morning.
“We take this opportunity to express our gratitude to all the healthcare professionals and essential workers who, with compassion, tirelessly and with courage, have remained on the front line throughout the pandemic,” added Minister Duclos.
After three years of pandemic, the situation is finally “stable” in Canada.
The day before, the chief public health officer of Canada, Dr. Theresa Tam, pointed out that there have been no new waves of infection caused by variants in recent months in Canada.
Omicron subvariants continue to spread, but hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths have leveled off.
Dr. Tam recalled, however, that the elderly or immunocompromised continue to be disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
For his part, the Premier of Quebec, François Legault, underlined that “the Quebec flag will be flown at half-mast on the central tower of the Parliament Building and all the public buildings of the Government of Quebec in memory of the victims of the COVID-19”.
In a tweet on his Twitter account, he wrote: “Three years later, my thoughts are still with the families and loved ones of the victims.”
In Quebec, the number of coronavirus victims stands at 18,181.
In an update of the situation on February 2, the national director of public health, Dr. Luc Boileau, explained that hybrid immunity, acquired by vaccination and a past infection, confers better protection against hospitalizations and death than immunity acquired solely through vaccination or disease.
He claimed at the time that approximately three-quarters of Quebecers under the age of 60 have already had COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in the winter of 2020.
For spring 2023, Quebec public health only invited those most at risk and those who had never contracted the virus to be vaccinated again, respecting an interval of six months.
On March 3, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) also recommended that Canadians who are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19 receive another booster dose of vaccine this spring.
These “higher risk” populations include seniors 80 and older, adults who live in long-term care homes and congregate settings for the elderly, and those with “complex medical needs.”
The NACI-recommended interval is also six months or more since the last dose or SARS-CoV-2 infection, whichever is longer.