“Science must prevail” in the administration of doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 in Quebec, estimates the Parliamentary Secretary for Science of the Government of Canada and Member of Parliament for Pontiac, William Amos.
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The Parliamentary Secretary for Science of the Government of Canada and Member of Parliament for Pontiac, William Amos, denies wanting to interfere in the decision-making of the Government of Quebec in terms of vaccination against Covid-19. Bloc member Marie-Hélène Gaudreau does not read things the same way.
© (Photo Despositphoto)
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On February 13, the Liberal MP posted a statement on his Facebook page in which he questioned the Government of Quebec’s Covid-19 vaccination plan.
“Quebec’s current COVID-19 vaccination plan provides for administering the second dose of the vaccine three months after their first dose, which does not follow the latest recommendations of the National Advisory Committee on Immunization or those of vaccine manufacturers, on the basis of which the Health Canada authorization was granted. They recommend administering the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine within six weeks of the first dose, ”said Mr. Amos.
At a press conference on January 14, the Minister of Health and Social Services of Quebec, Christian Dubé, effectively argued that a period of between 42 and 90 days could now elapse between the administration of the first and the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The choice of Quebec
Minister Dubé justified this choice by explaining that it had been taken after consultation with the Public Health of Quebec and because the province received “very few vaccines”. Mr. Dubé’s priority is to vaccinate all residents of CHSLDs, then move on to those in residences for the elderly (RPA), particularly vulnerable to the virus.
The member for Pontiac clearly specified that his intervention was not intended to “interfere in the decision-making of the provinces”, but to express the opinion that in the fight against Covid-19, science “must predominate ”.
“The best way to ensure solidarity is to ensure that all Quebecers and Canadians are effectively vaccinated in accordance with the best scientific evidence available to us. “ – William Amos
Mr Amos appears to be concerned that the vaccine will be less effective if the time between the two doses is three months.
Tense context
The publication of Mr. Amos on Facebook comes in a tense context between Quebec and Ottawa.
On January 6, when announcing the curfew in the province, Mr. Legault, visibly exasperated, had sent “a very clear message” to Mr. Trudeau: “instead of lecturing the provinces on the standards in CHSLD and vaccines, although it first takes care of supplying us with vaccines and also takes care of monitoring the follow-up that is done with travelers returning to Canada ”.
Interview refused
After granting an interview to The info On the subject, Mr. Amos changed his mind when he learned of the questions the newspaper wanted to ask him.
“Unfortunately, we are of the opinion that your questions polarize the issue of vaccination and it is not an avenue that Mr. Amos wants to take,” replied his communications assistant, Geneviève Lemaire.
The info wanted to question the member on the possible share of responsibility of the federal government in the vaccination strategy adopted by the government of Quebec and ask him if Ottawa should not rather be concerned with its own strategy in the fight against Covid-19.
“The doses are not delivered at the right time”, retorts the Bloc
Invited by The info to give her opinion on the publication of Mr. Amos, the Bloc member for the neighboring riding of Laurentides-Labelle, Marie-Hélène Gaudreau, did not mince words.
“I find it deplorable that the Liberal government is blaming the Government of Quebec in an attempt to hide that the problem comes from it. If we don’t have enough vaccines and they don’t arrive fast enough, it’s because the government didn’t negotiate well from the start. It is clear to everyone: Quebec has a great capacity to vaccinate the population; the problem is that we are running into a vaccine shortage in Quebec because the doses are not delivered at the right time. “
She called on the federal government to “take care of its responsibilities”, in particular by delivering vaccines and unconditionally and without delay increasing health transfers to Quebec.
The Bloc member ended by recalling the “many failings” of the Trudeau government since the beginning of the crisis, for example at the level of the late closure of borders or respect for quarantines.
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