The province is getting ready to launch a new vaccination campaign for Quebec’s most vulnerable populations, including people who live in long-term care homes and private seniors’ residences.

As of Aug. 15, teams will begin setting up in those homes to administer an additional vaccine dose, Quebec’s public health director announced during a news conference Thursday. Unlike other Quebecers, residents in those homes won’t need to call or log on to schedule an appointment. 

The vaccination campaign will also include Quebecers over 60 — starting with those who are 80 and older — who do not live in those facilities, as well as health-care workers.

The province is recommending booster shots to anyone whose last dose was more than five months ago. 

The public health director was asked about the timing of the vaccination campaign, given reports that vaccines that specifically target Omicron subvariants are on their way.

Boileau said the vaccines that are already available are too effective to pass up for people who risk being hospitalized or dying if they get COVID-19. 

“We’re suggesting really strongly to get the actual vaccines [we have now],” he said. “It’ll be better for you to get it right now instead of waiting and being at risk for another month or two.”

People who will need to book appointments to get their shots will be able to do so in the coming weeks. Boileau said more details about the vaccination campaign would be provided in the coming days.

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Though COVID-19 cases are going down, infectious diseases specialist Dr. Cécile Tremblay predicts another uptick this fall.

Spread of virus slowing down, Boileau says

This was Boileau’s second update in less than a week.

He kicked off the news conference by saying there was “good news,” regarding the spread of COVID-19 and that nearly all signs seemed to show that it had slowed in recent weeks.

“In every age group, we’ve noticed a decrease in transmission contrary to recent weeks where there were always age groups where it kept going up,” he said.

Last month, Boileau declared that the province had entered the pandemic’s seventh wave.

According to the Health Ministry,  2,136 people are in hospital with COVID-19, including 67 people in intensive care. Last Thursday, the totals reported were 2,222 and 69, respectively. 

On Thursday, Quebec reported 18 additional deaths linked to the virus, pushing the province’s coronavirus’s death toll since the start of the pandemic past the 16,000 mark.