Quebeckers who are not considered high-risk will have to pay nearly $200 to get vaccinated against influenza and COVID-19 this season, charting a path opposite to other provinces in Canada as the viral season picks up speed.
Quebec is the only province scrapping universal flu coverage, owing its decision to guidance from the province’s immunization committee. Only some categories will be eligible for a free flu shot, such as Quebeckers 65 and older; people with certain chronic conditions – such as immunocompromised people – and those living with them; pregnant women; residents of seniors’ homes and long-term care facilities.
Those who do not qualify can expect to be charged around $150 for the COVID-19 vaccine, which came into effect in the province last year. Now, they will also need to pay between $30 and $40 for the flu shot, said Marilie Beaulieu-Gravel, a spokesperson for the association representing pharmacy owners in Quebec.
New data from the Public Health Agency of Canada, reported on Friday, show Canada’s positivity rate for flu has risen to 3.7 per cent. The flu season officially starts when the positivity rate crosses the seasonal 5-per-cent threshold, but some parts of the country are reporting that the respiratory virus season is already under way.
Nathalie Grandvaux, a University of Montreal medical school professor who is an expert on virus-host interactions, said the Quebec government is making a mistake.
“I fail to understand the logic here, which seems to be purely an economic logic, and I still don’t get it,” she said.
Flu shots are necessary because the virus mutates and new strains appear, she added.
“You don’t keep the immunity from the previous year’s vaccine,” she said. “You’re going to end up with a lot of people with flu symptoms in emergency wards, clogging up hospitals when there are other priorities.”
While COVID-19 indicators such as hospitalizations and deaths are down, people can still get infected and develop symptoms, affecting schools and workplaces. She also mentioned the risks of drawn-out debilitation linked to long COVID.
Quebec and Alberta were the only two provinces that started charging for a COVID-19 shot last season, with the exception of certain higher-risk populations. Albertans had to pay $100 per jab if they were ineligible for a provincially covered shot. The charge is the same this year.