Several families converged on Wednesday morning at vaccination centers in the metropolis and in the rest of Quebec, while the vaccination campaign for young people aged 5 to 11 begins, a crucial step which aims to give a first dose to as many people as possible. children possible by Christmas.
“I will be able to go to more different places, I will be able to travel to other countries and also protect my relatives, my friends my family”, launches the young Arthur Sorin, nine years old, after having received his first dose of the vaccine. . His mother Dorothée Philippon says that it was not difficult for her to make the decision to have her son vaccinated.
“It was obvious to us. We’re going back to France during the holidays to see the family, it’s been two years since we’ve seen them. Above all, I didn’t want to be a vector of transmission, especially since my father’s health is fragile, ”says Arthur’s mother. “It’s in our values. We especially want to protect our loved ones, ”she insists.
“It’s super easy. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It didn’t hurt at all. I couldn’t wait to be able to go to friends’ parties, that it’s over, that we stop wearing the mask at school, ”says the young Béatrice Khlot, on leaving the vaccination center, with his sister Simone.
His father, Jean-Pierre Khlot, agrees moreover. “It was very easy, there was no waiting, people accompanied us all along and also helped us to reassure the children,” he said, saying that he had made the decision to vaccinate his children. girls “so that we can possibly resume our activities, see family and friends again”. “As long as the possibility opened up, we did not hesitate, we came to have them vaccinated,” he raises.
A “mini-CLSC”
In the city center of the metropolis, at the Palais des congrès, users showed up early in the morning, shortly before 9 am, in the right atmosphere. Companion dogs, adapted rooms, entertainment or even ephemeral tattoos; the CIUSSS Center-Sud-de-l’île-de-Montréal has gone all out to welcome children.
“We will also give them drawings of the type search and find during vaccination, in addition to having pet therapy almost every day,” says the director of vaccination of the CIUSSS, Marie-Ève Brunelle. She says that this climate is very similar to what children can experience in a CLSC, “with little tights or little gifts.
We wanted to set up a mini-CLSC vaccination inside the Palace in fact, that was our line of conduct.
Marie-Ève Brunelle, Director of Immunization at the CIUSSS
“If there are children who are very scared, screaming or struggling, it is not conducive to vaccination. In such cases, the parent will be asked to reassure their child with the help of a professional. The role of parents is also to reassure them before arrival, ”she says in this regard.
At the Palais des congrès, the teams on the spot estimate to be able to vaccinate up to 1000 children per day, but the operation will not climb until then in the first days, the machine being still “in break-in”, admit the authorities .
Eight weeks apart
In total, there are approximately 650,000 children aged 5 to 11 in Quebec. The interval between the administration of vaccine doses will be set at eight weeks, following the recommendation of the Committee on Immunization of Quebec (CIQ). By saying he wanted to avoid putting pressure on parents, Prime Minister François Legault still invited parents on Tuesday to make the decision to have their child vaccinated to protect them against the virus and to avoid the impacts of the closure. possible schools.
“Holding his grandma or grandpa in his arms without being afraid of giving him COVID can also have some value for children,” he said at a press briefing, referring to the approach of the holiday season. Several other vaccination sites across the metropolis and the province also launched their vaccination campaign among young children on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday evening, no less than 80,000 appointments had already been made through the Clic Santé platform, which opened availability for 5-11 year olds on Tuesday morning. The vaccination campaign will be deployed in schools from next week. Parents must first give their consent for their child to be vaccinated in school.