Pop-up clinics, phone line launched to reach Quebec's unvaccinated
Quebec will launch pop-up clinics and a phone line to reach unvaccinated citizens in an effort to increase first vaccinations in regions where rates are lowest.
Junior health minister Lionel Carmant made the announcement on Monday.
"We want to go meet people in the field. We want to explain the pros of vaccination by using a positive approach," said Carmant.
Carmant said a phone line will soon be up to answer concerns about the vaccine for those who are hesitant.
Beginning Thursday, a pop-up clinic will open at the CLSC Sainte-Catherine in Montreal's downtown core.
"Over the next few weeks other clinics will open up," said Carmant.
In Quebec, about eight per cent of the population has not received a first dose of vaccine.
Carmant said it is not only anti-vaxxers that have not received a dose, and that marginalized and vulnerable populations in addition to those who are afraid of getting a dose are among the unvaccinated.
"Several actions have been undertaken over the past few months to reach these populations, but I believe that it's necessary to do more," he said.
The new plan will work in cooperation with McGill University's Faculty of Medicine. Med students will help identify neighbourhoods in which to intervene.
Quebec vaccination campaign director Daniel Pare said the future strategy will include buses and opening clinics in regions where vaccination rates are low.
"We're really going towards the population and that's what we'll do," he said.
Carmant said teams will not be going door-to-door, but will work with community organizations and local leaders.
"The community organizations are fundamental partners in this campaign," he said.
The pop-up clinics will remain for one or two weeks in hopes that numbers will increase.
"Every dose given is going to be a little victory for me," said Carmant.
Carmant said past pop-up clinics have worked and that they are to thank for the province going from around 1.2 million unvaccinated to 600,000.
"So now we want to use the same technique and intensify it, increase the visibility to have further success with this technique," he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.