COVID-19 — and who haven’t already been infected — need to get a booster dose, Quebec’s public health director said Thursday.The vast majority of Quebecers have hybrid immunity — protection through vaccination and through a SARS-CoV-2 infection — making regular boosters unnecessary, at least for this winter and spring, Dr.
Luc Boileau told reporters.“People with hybrid immunity have a very good protection against a severe form of the illness,” Boileau said. “And this immunity lasts for a long enough time that we can propose changes.”Those who have been vaccinated but haven’t contracted the virus are also protected against severe COVID-19, he said, but their immunity “has a tendency to drop with time.” Read more: COVID-19 pandemic in ‘transition point,’ but remains global health emergency: WHO Read next: How rising food prices make eating healthy a big-time struggle for some Canadians Quebec’s vaccination committee decided to focus the province’s immunization policy on preventing hospitalizations and deaths, he said.
People who are 60 and older or who have chronic illnesses, health workers, pregnant women and those who live in isolated regions are among the people who should get a booster every six months — but only if they have never caught the virus, Boileau said.Dr.