COVID-19: the booster dose is no longer recommended by public health
Quebec public health estimates that the Quebec population adequately vaccinated (i.e. two doses of vaccines plus a booster dose) will not need a booster dose against COVID-19, learned Radio -Canada. Prime Minister François Legault indicates that he will follow public health recommendations on this subject.
While at RDI, professor in the department of biological sciences at UQAM and specialist in virology Benoit Barbeau believes that it would have been impossible to maintain a vaccination campaign across Quebec as before, especially since the majority of the population is vaccinated. It’s therefore in this spirit that people considered to be more at risk are targeted as priorities.
“We have very good vaccine immunity in the population, in addition to the fact that the majority of the population has already been infected with the coronavirus, resulting in hybrid immunity. The groups targeted by the recall are the most vulnerable people, i.e. people aged 60 and over, residents of RPAs, private seniors' residences or CHSLDs, residential and long-term care centres, people who are immunocompromised or on dialysis.” Health care workers, pregnant women and adults living in remote or isolated regions are also considered vulnerable.
On the other hand, the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec, a permanent committee of experts directly from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec, says that a booster dose may be necessary in the longer term depending on the health situation. He specifies that his recommendations are valid for winter and spring 2023 only.
