COVID-19: Public Health recommends caution for the summer

UPDATE DAY

As cases of COVID-19 are on the rise as a seventh wave hits Quebec, the general direction of public health urges the population to be extra careful for the summer period.< /p>

“Even if the situation is evolving favorably, the community contagion remains significant,” recalled Dr. Marie-France Raynault, senior strategic medical adviser within the General Directorate of Public Health.

Currently, the BA.5 variant represents 43% of cases, which makes it “probably” predominant in Quebec.

Dr. Raynault also wishes to remind you that living with the virus involves following a few basic instructions.< /p>

“We must refrain from going out if we have respiratory symptoms. Many people continue to show up at gatherings despite having symptoms, ”she said sorry.

To this end, Public Health reiterates that people with symptoms should make a quick test and self-isolate.

“Even if the mask is no longer mandatory, it is good to have one handy, if you find yourself in a crowd,” added Dr. Raynault.

For now, however, reinstating his obligation does not is not in the public health plans.

Public Health also notes that people hospitalized in intensive care are in lower proportion compared to previous waves, showing that the vaccine works to “prevent the most serious forms of the disease”.

Vaccination for children

Health Canada on Thursday approved Moderna's Spikevax vaccine for children aged six months to five years.

However, several steps remain to be completed before is not available in Quebec. No timetable has yet been set.

The Quebec Committee on Immunization (CIQ) will have to take note of the recommendations and the data, in order to then make its own recommendations “very soon”.

The moment when the federal government will make the vaccines available to the provinces is also still uncertain.

“We don't know yet if we will have to prioritize. If the doses do not arrive quickly, it may be offered first to children with cancer or immunosuppression. These are things that will be decided in the coming weeks,” explained Dr. Raynault.