MONTREAL -- West Islanders now know where they'll be able to start getting their COVID-19 vaccines.
On Wednesday, the regional health authority identified the first three mass vaccination sites. They are:
- The Bob-Birnie Arena in Pointe-Claire
- The Dollard-St-Laurent Sports Centre in Lasalle
- The Gerry-Robertson Community Centre in Pierrefonds-Roxboro
More sites are expected to be announced shortly.
In a statement, the regional health authority said teams are already mobilized to get the three sitres prepared to begin administering vaccines. The sites will be open seven days a week and are expected to accomodate several thousand people per day.
The current order of priority for vaccines is people over the age of 80, followed by those between the ages of 70 to 79, then 60 to 69, then adults under the age of 60 with a chronic medical condition that increases the risk of complications from COVID-19. They will be followed by people in the same age group without risk of complications but who provide essential services.
Last to receive the vaccines is the rest of the adult population.
No official date was given for when the centres will start operating. Over the past month, Quebec has lagged in administering vaccines due to a shortage, though the number of vaccines received by the province was scheduled to go up significantly beginning this week.
Several other mass vaccination sites in Montreal have already been announced, including in the Olympic Stadium and Palais des Congres.
