Those who had their last vaccine dose more than five months ago and those infected with the virus more than three months ago will be eligible to get a dose of the vaccine, Dr. Luc Boileau said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Children over five and teens as old as 17 will be also be able to get the new vaccine if they’re at a higher risk of COVID-19 complications and their physician recommends it. The flu vaccine will also roll out sooner than usual this season, within the next few weeks instead of its usual November rollout. Quebecers will be able to get both shots at once while at the vaccination clinic as soon as it comes out, he said. The Moderna vaccine isn’t recommended for those under 30 because it poses a higher risk of myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — than the Pfizer vaccine does, said Dr. Caroline Quach, who sits on Quebec’s vaccine committee and spoke alongside Boileau. For that reason the bivalent vaccine is currently being prioritized for those over 30, though Quebecers can still request to receive it. Health Canada formally approved Moderna’s updated COVID-19 vaccine last week for people age 18 and older. Sources tell Radio-Canada that Quebec expects to receive nearly three million doses of it. The vaccine is a combination of two strains, also known as a bivalent vaccine. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine available in Canada that targets both the original virus and the Omicron variant BA.1 that emerged late last year and drove the largest wave of infection and hospitalization among Canadians in the pandemic. Infectious diseases specialists and other experts are hopeful this updated vaccine will be more effective at preventing transmission than the original shots, but they also warn people not to expect it to be a silver bullet. At a news conference last month, Boileau said the updated vaccine will replace the province’s current stock once it arrives. This is not because the original shot doesn’t do its job in preventing severe infection, he clarified. As part of Quebec’s mass vaccination campaign launched last month, health officials are recommending people receive a new dose of vaccine five months after their previous dose, regardless of the number of booster doses received to date. People who have recently had a COVID-19 infection are asked to wait three months before getting the new shot. Less than a quarter of Quebecers have received a dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the past five months, according to Radio-Canada.
