While more than half of the province’s children aged 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, the situation is different in some Montreal neighborhoods. A pediatrician calls on Quebec to show “imagination” and better “target” its efforts.
In Saint-Léonard, only 21.2% of children had been vaccinated as of December 20. This rate was barely 29.1% in Anjou, 34.3% in Ville-Marie, 33.5% in Montreal-Nord and 37% in Ahuntsic-Cartierville.
The government must make “more targeted efforts” to reach neighborhoods with the lowest vaccination rates, says Dr Olivier Drouin, pediatrician at CHU Sainte-Justine in Montreal. “In any group where vaccination is less present, it increases the spread,” he says. In children, in particular, we need to be more imaginative and aggressive in our vaccination efforts. “
Neighborhoods where childhood immunization lags have lower rates among adults too, observes Dr.D Valérie Lamarre, pediatric infectious disease specialist at CHU Sainte-Justine.
The race for appointments before the start of the school year
Press went to the Convention Center on Wednesday, where the Lopez family came to vaccinate Natalia, 11, and Santiago, 10. “They will start school in January,” explains their father Walter Lopez. The latter adds that they have just arrived from Venezuela.
Vincent Alimi and his wife, Christine Desjarlais, also took advantage of Wednesday to complete the vaccination of their four children. Noah, 10, Nicola, 9, Alice, 7, and Rosalie, 5, rolled up their sleeves for the second time. The family plans to travel to Vermont, says Mme Desjarlais. “There is also the resumption of school,” argues Mr. Alimi.
It is still necessary to have access to a vaccine.
In Montreal, only two clinics currently offer walk-in vaccination for children, the Palais des congrès and the Olympic Stadium, according to the Santé Montréal website.
Wednesday, Press tried to make an appointment to have a child immunized. At the CLSC de La Petite-Patrie, we could not get an appointment before January 13. At the Ahuntsic CLSC, the wait was even longer, since no place was available before January 18.
Another example: the vaccination clinic of Christopher Columbus was completely closed, during the passage of Press Wednesday. However, in Villeray – Saint-Michel – Parc-Extension, where this clinic is located, barely 41.9% of children have received at least one dose.
Vaccination in schools
Scheduled face-to-face from January 10, the return to class will allow vaccination to continue in schools, explains DD Lamarre.
Since the start of the pandemic, the closure of schools has had negative repercussions on the “psychological, emotional and academic” development of children, underlines Dr Drouin. But because of the risk of the spread of the coronavirus, “the fact that children are less vaccinated” must also be taken into consideration for the return to class, according to him. “It is desirable to have the children in school, but it must be done in a safe environment,” he concludes.
On Tuesday, during a press briefing, the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, nevertheless welcomed the vaccination rate of children in Quebec. In a few weeks – and with additional efforts – the proportion of vaccinated in this age group will reach that of 12 to 17 years old, estimated Daniel Paré, director of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Quebec. As of December 27, 79.8% of teens were adequately immunized in the province.