Healthcare workers, vulnerable citizens first in line for Quebec's COVID-19 vaccine

Premier François Legault says Quebec has “already established” a priority list of citizens who will be given the COVID-19 vaccine, citing healthcare workers and vulnerable people as first in line.

Legault says public health teams are working on vaccinations for the virus and said the “ministry’s objective is to have a vaccine ready at the beginning of January.”

He specified that long-term care home (CHSLD) workers, staff on the front line, and older adults outside of nursing homes would be the first to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Legault says Health Minister Christian Dubé will work with CIUSSS (Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux) around the province for the execution of the vaccination campaign. 

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The premier said he is awaiting a call from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Thursday to see how many doses Quebec will be getting and when they will arrive.

“When is one thing but how many is another,” said Legault in French from Quebec City. “According to the doses we get per week, we’ll need to hire more employees to administer the vaccines.”

He continued to say that as premiers across the country are “waiting for new information,” how many doses will be the biggest factor. “If we get 200,000 per week, it’s not the same as getting 500,000 per week,” said Legault.

L’espoir est là avec les vaccins qui s’en viennent. Mais entre temps, on doit continuer d’être prudents, surtout d’ici Noël. La bataille n’est pas finie. Suivez notre point de presse en direct: https://t.co/SmzIRDpgcf

— François Legault (@francoislegault) November 26, 2020

In regards to the holidays, Legault says he is “very comfortable” with the government’s allowance of two Christmas gatherings.

He stressed the importance of isolating the week leading up to the four day Christmas break and urged Quebecers to respect the oft-mentioned guidelines: mask-wearing and two-metre distancing.

“We will make sure the situation is relatively under control by Christmas,” concluded the premier. “But Quebecers have to continue to do their part.”