While many are taking it easy on vacation, the Covid is still working. And not everyone wants to get vaccinated.
“Yes, I’m a tough guy, I’m not afraid of anything,” says Claude Gosselin, in a confident tone.
“We have to let things go naturally. If we are healthy, we will catch the flu and we will fight it,” another woman believes.
For Julien’s little family, there’s no question of missing out on the next dose, especially with the return to class of his two children.
“If necessary, it can help, there is no problem. We will follow the cohort. (…) It prevents the spread of the virus. We go there with people. It’s for the best,” says the father.
It’s not just in the region where the question of the split booster dose is concerned. A Leger web survey that was conducted at the end of July reveals that 53% of respondents will seek a new dose of vaccine against COVID-19 this fall.
“That doesn’t mean the other half doesn’t have the intention, it might just be that we’re on vacation and we’re asking a question like that. We hope that the intention will prove to be stronger because we expect to see new variants arrive at the end of the summer”, supports the regional director of public health Gaspésie-Les-Îles, Yv Bonnier-Viger .
As of August 4, 85% of the Gaspé and Magdalen population are adequately vaccinated, with three doses of vaccine. 65.7% of them got a booster dose. Despite the presence of three new variants, barely eight children aged 0 to 5 received their vaccine against COVID-19 in Gaspésie.
“I’m not disappointed because I think once again that we are in the middle of summer and there are still a lot of people on vacation. I think it will progress slowly, ”says the doctor.
18 people are still currently hospitalized in Gaspésie and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine due to COVID-19. Although cases and hospitalizations are decreasing, Public Health strongly recommends a new dose, while another wave is expected this fall.