CISSS de Laval has three clinics up and running, and a fourth expected soon
With Laval among the areas in Greater Montreal where a COVID-19 “red zone” remains in effect, it’s clear that efforts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic are still far from over, although there is more hope than before with the start of a widescale vaccination program.
So, while gymnasiums, restaurants, theatres and cinemas can now open on a limited basis in “orange” zones in the rest of the province, the red zone restrictions continue in Laval and the rest of the Montreal region for the time being.
Thousands vaccinated
In Laval, several COVID-19 vaccination clinics opened last week. As of the beginning of March, thousands of Laval residents had already been vaccinated. With up to three vaccination clinics in Laval operating as of this week, a total of four clinics are expected to be up and running in Laval in the coming weeks.
Stéphanie Daigneault, a spokesperson for CISSS de Laval, told the Laval News that the first week the clinics opened went smoothly. “We had 300 appointments on day one of each clinic,” she said. “Day two, three and four we had 600 appointments, and then after that it was 800 appointments a day.”
Three vaccination locations
As of this week, the CISSS de Laval has three vaccination clinics up and running (by appointment). They are located at the Méga Centre shopping mall Notre-Dame in Laval’s west end, at the Quartier Laval shopping centre in central Laval, and at the SmartCentre Laval Est in eastern Laval.
The CISSS emphasizes that vaccination remains the most efficient, reliable and secure way to protect one’s self and others from COVID-19. As part of the ongoing vaccination campaign, the CISSS and the Quebec health ministry have set up a priority list of persons in groups to be vaccinated.
Continue following measures
According to the health ministry, the groups of persons scheduled to be vaccinated are being changed or expanded as the quantities of vaccines being received from manufacturers increase. In the meantime, they urge everyone to continue following preventive measures, including rigorous hand-washing and wearing of face masks.
The CISSS emphasizes that vaccination remains the most efficient, reliable and secure way to protect one’s self and others from COVID-19
The health ministry says vaccines will become available “gradually,” and that as soon as they become more available across the country, the vaccination program here will be expanded to include a growing number of persons.
The current order of priority is considered preliminary, but is led off by persons considered to be vulnerable and suffering a great loss of autonomy and who are living in health care residences and CHLSDs or in group homes.
Priority groups for vaccination
Others in the priority list are as follows:
| Workers in health care institutions who are coming into contact with patients or residents. | Underway |
| Persons with autonomy living in seniors’ residences. | Underway |
| Isolated communities or at great distances from urban settings. | N/A |
| Persons 85 years old and over. | Underway |
| Persons 80 years old and over. | Underway |
| Persons 70 years to 79 years old. | Underway |
| Persons 60 years to 69 years old. | To come |
| Adults 60 years old or less suffering from a chronic illness or a health problem made potentially more hazardous by COVID-19. | To come |
| Adults 60 years old or less without chronic illnesses or other health problems, but who have responsibility for persons with those types of health problems at risk from COVID-19. | To come |
| The rest of the adult population. | To come |
The health ministry says that a schedule for vaccination of children and pregnant women will be determined after studies on the safety for these groups has been completed.
