Quebec is no longer recommending the COVID-19 booster shot for healthy individuals. Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau announced the most recent change in vaccine protocol during a Thursday press conference, stating that only those who are at risk and who haven't had COVID-19 before should get the booster dose.
In a press conference Tuesday morning, Premier Francois Legault, Health Minister Christian Dubé, Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau and Comité sur l'immunisation du Québec (CIQ) President Dr. Caroline Quach-Thanh announced the launch of a new vaccination campaign ahead of the fall.
In a press conference thursday afternoon, the senior strategic medical advisor of the Direction générale de la santé publique of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS), Dr. Marie-France Raynault, explained the province’s current approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Raynault cited INSPQ polls which she says showed that Quebecers have "very varied understandings" of what it means to be living with COVID-19.
Quebec's COVID-19 state of emergency is finally over after 811 days but that doesn't mean the end of all measures. The legislation to end the health emergency, Bill 28, passed by a vote of 68 to 42 in the National Assembly Wednesday, June 1. Its adoption puts an end to the formal state of emergency but empowers the government to continue to enforce some public health orders from the health minister until December 31.
Interim National Public Health Director Dr. Luc Boileau announced Thursday that he has recommended to the government that the Quebec COVID-19 mask mandate stays in place until mid-May.The mandate was originally supposed to end everywhere except public transit in mid-April. In light of the sixth wave spurred by the BA.2 variant, Boileau pushed that deadline to the end of April. Now he's pushing it two weeks further.