Dr. Luc Boileau said teams will travel to long-term care and nursing homes to provide a memorial on site starting August 15. At the same time, members of the general public will be able to start making appointments, starting with those 80 and older, health workers and people in remote communities, he said. Because immunity wanes over time, Boileau said it’s important for people to stay current on vaccinations, especially those who are most vulnerable. “We call on all citizens who have this profile, especially those who are older, more vulnerable and with chronic diseases, to take advantage of this vaccination,” he said. He said a new dose is recommended five months after the previous one, although those infected with COVID-19 in the meantime can wait a little longer if they prefer. READ MORE: Some Quebec health workers sick with COVID-19 told to return to work, union says Boileau declined to use the term “fifth installment,” even though the province has been offering fourth installments to long-term care residents and vulnerable seniors since late March. Instead of counting doses, he said people should look at how long it’s been since their last shot when deciding whether to get a booster. “Has it been five months, six months? If so, it’s time to get it,” he told reporters in Montreal. He urged those who are eligible for vaccines to get them instead of waiting for new vaccines that are more tailored to the current variants on the market, because the timetable for the release of the new vaccines remains unclear. Boileau said there has been an improvement in the province’s COVID-19 situation in recent days and suggested the current wave of COVID-19 is starting to subside. But he said officials expect an increase as early as September, after people return to school and increase their contacts as they gather indoors. The health director also said demand for vaccines for ages six months to five years is “limited” but suggested weak demand could be due to the summer holidays or the fact that many children have already contracted COVID-19. the last months. Meanwhile, the death toll from COVID-19 in the province crossed the 16,000 mark on Thursday. Health authorities reported 18 more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus, bringing the total to 16,010. Hospitalizations linked to the disease fell by 10, to 2,136, and the number of people in intensive care remained stable at 67. Quebec reported its first death from COVID-19 in March 2020, shortly after the World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic. Provincial data shows that the vast majority of deaths have occurred in seniors over 70 and that nearly 69 per cent of deaths involved people aged 80 and over.
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