COVID-19 | Detention, even for vaccinated snowbirds

Matthew Perrault
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Claude Hamilton received his second vaccine in Florida two weeks ago. When he returns to Quebec in early May, along with his wife Bibion, he is usually protected from the virus. Furthermore, he will have to undergo a two-week quarantine at home.

“In the United States, Americans returning from abroad do not need a quarantine if they are vaccinated,” said the 75-year-old retiree.

The U.S. Government Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in early April that the ban on fully vaccinated Americans was over.

Prudent

The quarantine is being maintained because there is not enough “scientific data” on the vaccine’s ability to prevent the transmission of the SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, said Tammy Jorby, a public relations officer at Health Canada. It is therefore too early to give “rights to those who have been vaccinated”.

Benoit Massey, an epidemiologist at the University of Montreal, agrees. “We are not yet well aware of their impact on reducing the risks of transmission and acquisition,” Massey said. The vaccinated person may become highly ill and develop an asymptomatic or very mild form of COVID. With variations in the background and incomplete vaccinations of Canadians, be careful with returning travelers. ”

Accidents still exist

The Quebec Ministry of Health recently demanded that caregivers be vaccinated, otherwise they be re-employed for other tasks. Isn’t this recognition that the vaccine reduces transmission risk?

Studied in Marines

The only study on this topic was published in mid-April Lancet. This suggests that the risk of re-infection after the first infection with SARS-CoV-2 is 10%. But in re-infected HIV-positive individuals (those who already have antibodies during their quarantine), the virus total is 10 times lower, which reduces the risk of transmission.

The study was conducted with 3200 recruits from Marines Americans. They had an antibody test during their initial two-week blockade. Then, they were followed for six weeks, and during this follow-up between seronegative and seropositive we compared the risk of re-infection with SARS-CoV-2. Those who were assigned a PCR test indicating that they had the virus in their body were excluded from the study, to rule out the possibility that the infection may actually be “long-lived.

Car vaccine

Claude Hamilton confirms that he will respect the blockade when he returns to Canada. “I’m not a conspirator, we ‘ve worn a mask everywhere, we went to a restaurant once and we did not go back because we were not safe. At my golf club, half of the 400 members are from Quebec, and the rules in Quebec are as strict as they were last summer. I’ll be able to work on the ground, but I’ll have friends, they’m in the condo, it’s hard. ”

Mr Hamilton received his second vaccine at the Drive-Through Clinic at Miami Dolphins Stadium. He had his first dose in Quebec before leaving in late March. “Even though I did not have my first dose in Florida, the people in Miami created my record. They are great. The vaccine is free.