Immunization

At the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign, results from clinical studies showed that two doses of vaccine provided excellent protection against disease and hospitalization due to COVID-19. However, the large epidemic wave caused by the arrival of the Omicron variant in late 2021 led to a broad recommendation to administer a booster dose to all adults. This outbreak highlighted the…

The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) recently asked the CIQ to issue an opinion on the target interval before administration of the second dose, and important considerations to be taken into account for decision-making. The purpose of this opinion is to answer this question through an analysis of the most recent data on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness from Quebec and abroad…

Recently, various strategies have been recommended in a number of jurisdictions regarding the time interval between the two doses of COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS) has asked the Comité sur l'immunisation du Québec (CIQ) to explain the basis of these different intervals. The MSSS also inquired whether the CIQ has maintained the recommendations that…

The number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths due to COVID-19 have been increasing in Quebec since August 2020. In addition to the suffering of those infected and their friends and family, caring for patients and their contacts creates a significant burden for healthcare workers, who are frequently infected, threatening the integrity of our healthcare system. The way the pandemic…

The last report issued by the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec (CIQ) concerning the Programme d’immunisation contre l’influenza du Québec (PIIQ) [Québec’s Influenza Immunization program] was published in 2007. An update became necessary, given the many scientific advances that have occurred in this field.

The primary objective of the PIIQ must be to reduce influenza…

A lot of new data on the immunogenicity, efficacy and effectiveness of fewer than three doses of HPV vaccine have become available since the publication of the CIQ report on the 2012 knowledge update. The two-dose schedule has become a standard that is widely accepted around the world. Such schedules are currently in use in more than half (48/82) of the countries offering HPV vaccination…

The childhood immunization program was implemented in Québec to reduce the burden of pneumococcal disease, with the primary objective of lowering the incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD). The program began in 2002, targeting children with a high risk of IPD, and in 2004 it became a universal program for all children under age five. A schedule of four doses (3+1) is…

To control the spread of the meningococcal serogroup B disease in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region which has had a higher incidence rate compared with the rest of the province since 2004, a vaccination campaign was undertaken and targeted individuals 20 years and younger residing in or attending an educational institution in this region. An enhanced surveillance system was…

In 2007, the Comité sur l’immunisation du Québec (CIQ) recommended an extended schedule exclusively for immunization against the human papilloma virus (HPV) starting in grade 4 (0, 6, 60 months); the committee also stated that the third dose should be administered “if judged necessary.” Since the introduction of the Québec HPV immunization program in 2008, similar programs (two doses…