It was shortly before the holidays last year, on December 9, 2020, that Health Canada gave the green light to the very first vaccine against COVID-19. It was the one proposed by Pfizer-BioNTech.
This crucial step kicked off its distribution across the country.
Moderna’s vaccine was approved, followed by AstraZeneca’s.
When unveiling its vaccination plan on December 7, 2020, the Department of Health and Social Services indicated that each region would have a vaccination site.
The order of priorities was as follows:
- CHSLD residents
- Health workers
- Seniors living in private seniors’ residences
- Isolated communities
Source: Government of Quebec
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Eastern Quebec was no exception, so much so that the first doses of the vaccine made their debut in the weeks following its approval.
The first person in Canada to have received the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 is Gisèle Lévesque, 89, from CHSLD Saint-Antoine, in Quebec.
The vaccination operation begins quickly in the East
In Bas-Saint-Laurent, the first 400 doses of Pfizer’s vaccine arrived in the week of December 21, 2020. CHSLD from Rimouski.
On the North Shore, it is also in this same week that the vaccination began. CHSLD of Sept-Îles.
In the Gaspé, vaccination began on December 23, 2020, in the CHSLD de New Carlisle.
The vaccination took place as planned in the Gaspé and the Islands. We are one of the regions that is the most vaccinated among all the regions of Quebec
, launches the regional director of public health in Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Dr Yv Bonnier-Viger.
It indicates that according to data for the week of December 12 of CISSS of the Gaspé, approximately 82% of the population is adequately vaccinated in the region. The proportion of the population that is doubly vaccinated is higher in the Islands, at 84%.
The director of public health for the Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands, Yv Bonnier-Viger (archives)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Skype screenshot
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Omicron thwarted our plans, in the sense that the variant does not necessarily respect our vaccinated immune system. People who are not vaccinated have much more severe symptoms. Vaccination helps us avoid being hospitalized
, he mentions.
« Since there are a lot of people who get COVID-19, it would be nice not to get it to the point where you have to be hospitalized. For that, it is the vaccination that makes the difference. »
Mr. Bonnier-Viger adds that all the beneficiaries of the accommodation facilities in the region have received their third dose of vaccine. Health care workers and people with chronic illnesses are also largely affected.
According to the most recent data from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ), 14,619,762 doses have been administered across Quebec since its approval in 2020.
In addition, 84.3% of the population would have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
|
Region |
Cumulative number of vaccine doses |
|---|---|
|
Bas-Saint-Laurent |
351 726 |
|
Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine |
181 159 |
|
North Coast |
159 502 |
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Vaccination continues in the various regions of Eastern Quebec, even during this holiday season.
Currently, people 70 years of age and older, people with chronic illnesses, pregnant women, people who have received two doses of AstraZeneca vaccine, healthcare workers, and people 65 to 69 years of age can make an appointment for receive their third dose.
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