Many fear that the fourth wave of COVID-19 will be that of children, since, so far, those under the age of 12 cannot be vaccinated.
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In Quebec, as of September 3, 81.3% of people aged 12 and over had received their two doses of the vaccine.
«There you can [que les] hospitalizations, whether upstairs, in intensive care, or even consultations for COVID, are on the increase. But what also happens is everything we do to optimize the care, to ensure that we are not going to paralyze the system ”, explains Dr François Marquis, head of intensive care at Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont.
“The big challenge of this wave is to continue doing what we do for other patients,” underlines the expert.
The Dr Marquis specifies that several organizational challenges are imposed on hospitals for this fourth wave, but the experience that the teams acquired during the previous waves will be useful.
“Of course, we have excellent means to fight COVID. Hand washing, distancing, masks, all these things are still relevant, ”says the doctor.
“Unfortunately, those who are not yet vaccinated, there are enough, if we take the characteristics of the Delta variant, to paralyze the health system,” he says.
The Dr Marquis also stresses that it would be important for the 10 to 15% of unvaccinated people to go and receive their two doses.
“For those wondering if it’s too late to get vaccinated, the answer is no. Beyond saying that the fourth wave will be that of young people, it will be above all that of the unvaccinated, or incomplete vaccinations, ”insists the expert.
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