As the vaccine race continues to curb COVID-19, microbiologist and infectiologist Karl Weiss recalls how such a tool has been instrumental in the fight against other viruses, including H1N1.
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“Someone who was born in Quebec in 1900 had a life expectancy of 45 years. What has changed in 120 years is the arrival of vaccines, antibiotics and a little hygiene, of course, “said the specialist who works at the Montreal Jewish General Hospital.
“We are in trouble with the coronavirus because we don’t really have the tools to fight it.”
The situation was very different in 2009 when the H1N1 virus hit Quebec.
“People downplayed this pandemic because it didn’t happen much after all. We were anticipating a catastrophic scenario, but we had two weapons: a vaccine, which we gave to everyone, and medicines, which were given to a lot of people. This is a big difference compared to COVID. We were able to manage the epidemic much more easily, “said the microbiologist and infectious disease specialist.
The absence of a vaccine obviously modulates government and public health decisions in the fight against the coronavirus. “We put the company on pause because we are afraid of overflowing the system with too many cases. The reason you can’t totally confuse is the lack of a vaccine, “said Dr. Weiss.
“If we had a vaccine available in Quebec with a massive, effective and safe vaccination campaign in three or four months, no one would speak of deconfinement. We would already be thinking of vacations, of traveling. ”
“Vaccination remains a major tool for controlling disease and pandemics, we tend to forget,” said Karl Weiss.
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