COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Monday
CBC
Note: Quebec's Health Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays.
Canada received its first doses of COVID-19 vaccines for children Sunday evening, with vaccinations in Quebec potentially starting as early as this week.
The shots, developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, are meant for kids aged five to 11. Some 700,000 children in Quebec are eligible for the shot.
During a news conference Friday, Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé had said vaccinations would start once the province receives the doses, expected by the end of the week.
The goal, he said, is to provide one dose to each child by Christmas.
Dubé said the province will look to inoculate children in schools as well as in vaccination centres. The goal is to make it easy for parents to be with their children as they're getting their shots, he said.
The minister said he hopes the vaccination rate is as successful as it is for 12- to 17-year-olds. According to the latest provincial data, 95 per cent of people in that age group have received two vaccine doses — the highest rate of any age group.
The minister also said he does not believe children will need to comply with the province's vaccination passport rules.
This month, the Quebec government will allow people aged 70 and over to book an appointment for their third COVID-19 vaccine. People aged 80 and up can already sign up.
The province's immunization committee, the CIQ, has recommended that Quebecers in that age group be offered a third dose in order to boost their immunity against the virus.
People aged 75 to 79 can start booking their third doses as of today, and those 70 and older can do so starting Tuesday.
However, a period of six months has to have elapsed since the person's second COVID-19 vaccine dose.
People who have had two doses of AstraZeneca will be eligible to make an appointment for a third dose as of Thursday.
Seniors in long-term care homes will also receive a third dose by the end of November, Health Minister Christian Dubé said.