Quebecers who received a first dose of the Moderna or the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines are now able to move up their booster shots.
Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement Tuesday, saying those aged 50 and up can now reschedule their appointments on the government’s Clic-Santé website.
Dubé said confirmed shipments of AstraZeneca and Moderna means the previously announced shortened interval between doses can go ahead as planned. Up until now, only people who had received the Pfizer vaccine were able to reschedule their appointments because of the limited supplies of the other two vaccines.
“We’re talking about 500,000 more doses than previously planned from Moderna, which is giving us a lot of flexibility,” he said.
Younger age groups will be added in the coming days as they become eligible.
Quebec had halved the wait time from 16 to eight weeks between doses of three vaccines available in the province.
Dubé also specified that those who received a first dose of AstraZeneca could chose to change to an mRNA-type vaccine for their second dose.
“Those who want to change, you can now have the flexibility for your second dose to replace AstraZeneca with Moderna or Pfizer,” he said.
Dubé specified, however, that vaccination centres would offer either Pfizer or Moderna, but not both.
“They are equivalent in protection,” he said.
The health minister noted that so far, Quebec has administered close to seven million doses, including one million second doses representing 14 per cent of the population.
Dubé heralded the efforts of young people aged between 12 and 17, of whom 71 per cent have received at least one shot or booked an appointment.
“It largely surpasses the 18 to 39 category,” he said, adding 170,000 people still need to be vaccinated in that age bracket to reach the government’s 75 per cent benchmark.
“If you know someone in your entourage that is not vaccinated, we all have a collective duty to encourage them to get vaccinated,” he said. “In fact, I would summarize, vaccination is an individual effort that we must make for a collective result.”
Health officials reiterated that vaccination is the best protection against a potential fourth wave of the virus and the more contagious Delta variant.
The variant, first discovered in India, is on the rise in Ontario but has yet to make significant inroads in Quebec.
Quebec’s director of Public Health said testing and rigorous contact tracing, coupled with vaccination, has been the province’s first line of defence.
“I think people should be worried as compared to the other virus there is more risk of transmission to others and more risk to get hospitalized … over 32 per cent more,” said Dr. Horacio Arruda.
“Two shots is nothing compared to the impact of the disease.”
While it’s too soon to say what the impact of the variant could be on the death toll, Arruda explained that it would likely increase.
“Probably one portion of them are going to die because when you get hospitalized it’s because you have a more severe disease,” he warned.
In addition to reducing the risk of transmission, Arruda stressed that vaccination is a passport to freedom.
“If we want to keep our liberties — for youths or people who want to go to gyms or things like that this fall — having two doses is going to be necessary,” he said.
Dubé also hinted that those who are fully vaccinated could be granted certain advantages.
He cited ongoing discussions with Ottawa to allow travellers with proof of vaccination to avoid hotel quarantines as an example of a potential benefit.
Quebecers who have been vaccinated should have obtained an email with digital proof of vaccination. More information on what to do if you haven’t received yours is available on the government’s Clic Santé website.