MONTREAL -- Starting next Monday, people aged 70 and over will be able to make an appointment to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in one of some 350 pharmacies on the island of Montreal.
Vaccine administration to people who have made an appointment will begin a week later, on March 22. The pharmacists who will vaccinate will themselves have been inoculated before doing the same with the population.
You can make an appointment on the Government of Quebec website.
A few weeks ago, Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dube explained that the coronavirus situation was more precarious in Montreal, where there are the most cases of variants.
As vaccines are made available by the government and distributed, community pharmacies in regions other than the Island of Montreal will be added to the vaccination effort.
Inoculation in pharmacies was made possible thanks to an agreement between the Government of Quebec and the Quebec Association of Pharmacists (AQPP).
When the deal was announced on March 2, it was mentioned that Moderna's vaccine would be used because it is easier to transport and store.
The government's vaccination campaign provides that an accompanying person can be vaccinated on the same day as the person in the priority group if they are aged 70 and over and if they are present three days a week or more in support of their loved one.
Pharmacy vaccination will be added to mass vaccination sites such as the Olympic Stadium in Montreal and the ExpoCité Center de foires in Quebec.
It will therefore not be offered to replace other sites.
The government believes that this dual approach will allow Quebec to be ready for an even more substantial vaccination when there are enough doses to accelerate the pace.
-- this report by the Canadian Press was first published March 12, 2021.
