No COVID-19-related deaths in Quebec in a week

Shorter vaccine wait times for teens Quebec teens aged 12 to 17 can now move up their appointments for the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

MONTREAL — Quebec has not recorded a single death related to COVID-19 in over a week, according to data provided by the Institut national de santé publique du Québec (INSPQ).

The last registered death was on July 6 in a private seniors' home (RPA). Four deaths have so far been recorded this month. However, deaths can sometimes be added by health officials during 'data catch-ups.'

The number of new infections in the province continues to stay low, with 658 active cases as of Thursday morning, 79 of which are in hospital.

Health officials have credited high vaccination rates for the steadying numbers, with more than 6 million people (82 per cent) having received one dose of a vaccine and just over 3.5 million (47 per cent) having received two doses of a vaccine.

Nevertheless, government officials say they are still working to encourage all Quebecers to get inoculated, if eligible.

Wednesday, they launched a new ad campaign titled 'A good dose.'

The goal is to emphasize how important it is to get both vaccine doses as one is not enough to protect against COVID-19 or its variants.

The INSPQ says it is keeping a close eye on the four variants that have been identified in Quebec: B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma) and B.1.617 (Delta).

"Effectiveness after one dose is lower for the Delta variant compared with the Alpha variant. However, the protection is still good against hospitalization or severe disease," explains Nicholas Brousseau with the INSPQ. "Protection after two vaccine doses is great for all variants, including the Delta variant."

The number of cases related to the variants has remained under control, with a total of 8,341 infections in the province.

"It is important to note that the number of Delta variants is still low in Quebec compared to other variants," he said. "For the moment, there is no big increase in COVID-19 cases in the province, which is good news."

To date, a total of 11,231 people have died in the province due to the virus.