Vaccine passport 'has served our objectives,' Dubé says as measure is phased out
"There is no link to the political environment," the health minister said in reference to the recent wave of protests against public health measures.
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QUEBEC — Denying it is responding to pressure from the street, the Quebec government announced Tuesday it will gradually phase out the vaccine passport system.
“We’re doing it now because it’s the right time to do it, because it’s safe for public health,” Health Minister Christian Dubé told reporters at a news conference. “There is no link to the political environment.”
Nevertheless, the shift was dramatic. As late as last week, Dubé was saying there were no plans to lift the vaccine passport or mask mandate by March 14, the date by which almost all health measures are set to be dropped.
On Tuesday, he argued the opposite for the passport, saying it “has served our objectives” and public health — using fresh data — now recommends the government gradually drop it.
Starting Wednesday, you will no longer need to show the passport when entering outlets of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) and Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC) or to get into big-box stores.
On Feb. 21, the passport will no longer be necessary to be admitted to houses of worship or to attend a funeral.
On March 14, the passport will be completely eliminated. You won’t need it to enter a restaurant, bar, casino, gym, cinema, CHSLD or private seniors’ residence, or to attend public events.
Dubé, however, recommends Quebecers keep the app on their phones in the event of a sixth wave of COVID-19. Proof of vaccination is also still required for domestic rail and air travel, as those regulations are federal. Proof is also required for international travel.
Dubé defended the use of the passport, which has been a subject of some of the many protests happening around Canada, including one set to take place this weekend in Quebec City.
Quebec’s vaccine passport has been in place since Sept. 1.
“There were many Quebecers who appreciated the passports,” Dubé said. “It allowed us to protect the non-vaccinated because it limited contacts and it helped protect the health system.”
Dubé said the government estimates that the passport system alone incited 600,000 initially reluctant Quebecers to get vaccinated.
On hand for Tuesday’s news conference, interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau backed the shift. He said the COVID-19 situation is stabilizing in Quebec, which allows more leeway. On Tuesday the province reported 2,052 hospitalizations, including 132 people in intensive care.
Boileau noted that 85 per cent of Quebecers 60 and older have received their third dose of vaccine. Meanwhile, 25 per cent of the population has now contracted the Omicron variant, which is much more contagious (but less virulent). That has rendered the two-dose vaccine passport less efficient.
“We can’t move forward with a standardized vaccine passport with three doses because a lot of Quebecers, maybe 2.5 or three million, have been recently infected and we suggest they wait until eight to 12 weeks before being updated with the third dose.”
By then, sometime around the end of April, the current Omicron wave should be over, he added.
Boileau, however, said he does not envision any changes to the rules that make masks mandatory in all public indoor settings.
“The epidemiological situation does not allow us to withdraw masks at this point,” he said. Masks are another source of frustration for protesters.
Quebec’s decision on the passport mirrors that of other jurisdictions. Ontario has announced plans to drop its passport as of March 1. On Tuesday, the federal government also eased regulations for international travel.
On Monday, Premier François Legault said he would like to drop all the health measures created to fight COVID-19 as soon as possible.
The news about the vaccine passport was welcomed by Quebec’s business leaders, but the opposition parties ganged up on the Coalition Avenir Québec government, saying the move is another example of Quebec’s erratic management of the pandemic.
“Curfew, no curfew, a tax against the anti-vaccines, no tax against the anti-vaccines, the vaccine passport maintained, now abolished,” said Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade. “François Legault’s contradictory messages have to stop.”
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, Québec solidaire’s co-spokesperson, said he wants to see the original public health advisories proving the passport system made sense from the get-go.
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