Starting Friday, Quebecers in their 50s can begin making appointments to receive a dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and soon after, the rest of the adult population will be able to do so as well.
All adults in the province will soon be able to book an appointment at a vaccine clinic through Clic Santé, the province’s online portal, in the coming days and weeks.
Vaccines had previously been reserved for priority groups more vulnerable to the virus.
The schedule is as follows:
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April 30 – age 50 to 59.
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May 3 – age 45 to 49.
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May 5 – age 40 to 44.
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May 7 – age 35 to 39.
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May 10 – age 30 to 34.
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May 12 – age 25 to 29.
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May 14 – age 18 to 24.
The schedule is based on actual age, not the year of birth.
The province is expecting more than 2.5 million doses of vaccine to arrive by the end of May. Most of the new vaccines are from Pfizer-BioNTech. That vaccine requires a person to have two doses to be considered fully vaccinated.
“It’s a big day for Quebec,” Health Minister Christian Dubé said at a news conference Thursday.
“The sky is starting to clear and we’re seeing rays of sunshine.”
There is also more vaccine due to arrive from Moderna as well as Johnson & Johnson, which only requires a single dose.
Dr. Horacio Arruda, the province’s public health director, said the remaining AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine will be available to those aged 45 and over — and it will be clearly identified on Clic Santé.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also likely be available to the same cohort, he said.
Dubé said vaccination clinics, pharmacies and businesses will all take part in the next stage of the campaign.
The Pfizer vaccine won’t yet be made available to those between the ages of 16 and 18, as it hasn’t yet been approved by Quebec’s vaccine committee.
In its latest round of projections released Thursday, Quebec’s public health institute, the INSPQ, said the increased vaccine expected in May is likely to play a major role in curbing the number of infections and hospitalizations in the coming months.
The INSPQ cautioned that public health measures were still necessary in the interim to avoid a surge in cases, a point Dubé echoed during the news conference.
“We’re looking forward to talking about lifting restrictions but it’s still too early to finalize those plans,” Dubé said.
Arruda added there was no “magic number.” He said the decision will be based on several factors, not just vaccine coverage.