All Quebecers over the age of 18 will have the right to make an appointment for a souvenir by the end of the month, Lego told reporters in Quebec City along with Health Minister Christian Dubé and Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau.
“Fall is coming, that means back to school, people are back from vacation, there’s more (social) interaction, more transmission, so it’s a good time to start a huge campaign like we did before,” Legault said.
Quebecers can get a booster if it’s been five months since their last COVID-19 vaccine — or three months since they were last infected with the new coronavirus, the premier said.
Dubé said vaccine appointments will open for people 60 and older next week and for everyone 18 and older on Aug. 29. Quebec began offering fifth doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to residents of long-term care homes and private nursing homes on Monday.
Dubé said Quebec has the capacity to vaccinate about 300,000 people a week, but acknowledged that Quebecers may not rush to get a booster shot. Only 56 percent of the population aged five and over have received a third dose, according to the Department of Health.
“It’s because a lot of people had COVID-19,” Dubé said. “A lot of them decided not to get a booster shot because of that.”
Despite the new vaccination campaign and concerns about a new wave, officials said there was no plan to impose restrictions. Boileau said the measures currently in place in schools are “enough” and rejected the idea of installing air purifiers in classrooms.
“We have considered this option and do not recommend it,” he said. “If people want to have it, we can let them, but we don’t recommend it.”
Meanwhile, Quebec reported 36 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus on Tuesday and a decrease of 29 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. The Department of Health said there were 1,964 people in hospital with the disease, including 50 people in intensive care, a drop of five.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 16, 2022.
