By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
Starting this fall, COVID-19 booster shots will no longer be offered for free to the general public in Quebec pharmacies. The shots will still be free for members of high-risk groups, namely seniors 65 and older, people living in nursing homes or other shared living environments, health workers, pregnant women, people living in certain remote areas and younger adults with chronic health conditions. Quebecers who are not part of those risk groups will have to pay between $150 and $180 to get a booster shot, according to the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires.
Dr. Nicholas Brosseau is a public health specialist at the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ) and a member of Quebec’s provincial immunization committee, which issues recommendations around vaccination to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS). “I’m not involved in the decision – the health minister makes the decision – but there’s a Quebec vaccination committee and a pan-Canadian vaccination committee, and they both recommended a targeted vaccination program [focused on] older people,” he said. “That’s where we can make a difference.”
“Among young, healthy people, there is a very low risk of complications,” he said. “Most people have had COVID a few times and been vaccinated a few times. “Your first infection is usually your most severe. Long COVID is still a concern for young people, and we reduce the risk of long COVID [through vaccination] but recent studies have shown that yearly booster shots don’t make that much of a difference. The risk of long COVID is very low [if you don’t already have it after being infected several times].”
However, Brosseau cautioned that the “younger people are at lower risk” rule of thumb doesn’t apply to everyone, and that some young adults should get a booster shot. “Older people are often aware they are at higher risk, but sometimes young people with chronic illnesses – with diabetes or heart problems, for example – aren’t aware they are at risk. They are being targeted by this fall’s campaign.”
As of this writing, it was unclear how young people who were part of higher-risk groups, particularly those without a family doctor, would “prove” their status.
MSSS spokesperson Marie-Pierre Blier said more information about the logistics of the upcoming vaccination campaign would be announced “very soon.” Vaccination campaigns in previous years have typically kicked into high gear in early October.
While Blier said the ministry’s decision was based on “the most recent scientific information about who would draw the most significant benefits from vaccination,” she did note that “in previous years, significant quantities of doses were supplied to Quebec by the federal government, which is no longer the case.”