Strong first week for Quebec kids' vaccines; 38 per cent already have shot or appointment
Despite some dire polls suggesting that vaccine coverage for Quebec children might be low, the first week showed encouraging numbers, with nearly 40 per cent already given their shot or booked for one.
That doesn't include many, many kids who will receive the shot at school this month.
"As of December 2, 9:15 a.m., 108,344 children aged five to 11 have received their first dose," wrote Marie-Louise Harvey of Quebec's health ministry in a statement Thursday.
That adds up to 17 per cent of the province's kids in that age group, one week after they became eligible for the vaccine last Wednesday.
A much bigger group, 143,180, have an appointment booked, Harvey said.
Combined, that adds up to 38 per cent of Quebec kids in this age group.
NUMBERS TO GROW THROUGHOUT THE MONTH
In terms of tracking appointments made, the province is only able to do that if they're made on Clic-Santé, the provincial online portal, Harvey said.
"Note that in some regions, parents who want their child to be vaccinated at school must make an appointment on Clic-Santé. In other regions, the portal is not used," she said.
In those other regions, there's no data available on how many parents have signed up their children for shots at school.
The school nurse visits will continue throughout this month, until Christmas vacation, so it won't be clear for a few weeks what the overall uptake has been.
However, the first week's count is already somewhat encouraging, considering some recent numbers that suggested Quebec parents will be far less likely to get their kids vaccinated than parents in the rest of Canada.
A Leger poll released in late November showed that about half of parents in the rest of the country agreed that once the kids' vaccine had passed trials, children under 12 should get vaccinated.
In Quebec, however, the number was only about 40 per cent, depending on whether the parents had one or more child -- among Quebec parents with an only child, only 37 per cent agreed, while 43 per cent said a firm no.
Among parents with more than one child, it was 44 per cent, still significantly lower than the national average.
That survey was done in September and October.
Another survey, done by Quebec's public health institute as part of a rolling online poll about COVID-19, showed two weeks ago that only 60 per cent of Quebec parents planned to get their five-to-11 kids a shot.
MONTREAL APPEARS LOWER THAN AVERAGE
The uptake so far varies by region, said Harvey, though she didn't say which regions were the highest.
"In six regions, we can see a greater enthusiasm for the moment," she said.
"For the other regions, the percentage is between 25 and 37 per cent."
Montreal is currently lower than the provincial average, unless there has been a big jump over the last day.
On Wednesday, Montreal's public health director, Dr. Mylène Drouin, said that 14 per cent of Montreal children have been vaccinated, with another 16 per cent booked, adding up to 30 per cent in total.
Overall, there are nearly 654,000 children aged five to 11 across the province.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Leonardo DiCaprio criticizes Ottawa over B.C. salmon farms
Salmon farms have long been a point of contention between environmentalists and fish farmers in British Columbia, but a much bigger net is now being cast on the topic.
Flight from Israel to New Jersey diverted to New York state due to high winds, turbulence
High winds and turbulence have forced a United Airlines flight from Israel to be diverted from its destination of Newark Airport in New Jersey to Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, N.Y..
Vancouver rapper falls on ice during Canucks game performance
The Vancouver Canucks weren’t the only ones who stumbled during Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Stars.
Snow-covered bodies of 2 men from Senegal found in New York woods near Canadian border
Two men from Senegal froze to death were found in the snow of a wooded area close to the Canadian border, New York state police said.
This historical tavern in Toronto is closing after nearly 200 years
An historic downtown Toronto bar is closing its doors next week after nearly 200 years in business.
For years she thought her son had died of an overdose. The police video changed all that
Austin Hunter Turner died in 2017, on a night that his mother has rewound and replayed again and again, trying to make sense of what happened.
Feeling older than you are? It could be how you sleep
Not getting enough sleep may cause you to feel five to 10 years older than you really are, according to two new studies.
Manhattan DA suggests Donald Trump violated gag order with post about daughter of hush-money trial judge
Manhattan prosecutors suggested Friday that Donald Trump violated a gag order in his hush-money criminal case this week by assailing the judge's daughter and making a false claim about her on social media.
Niagara Region 'proactively' declares state of emergency ahead of total solar eclipse
Niagara Region says it has declared a state of emergency 'out of an abundance of caution' as it prepares for an influx of visitors for next month’s total solar eclipse.