Covid-19: Canada begins its vaccination campaign in full second wave
Gisèle Lévesque, the first Canadian to receive a dose of the anti-Covid-19 vaccine, in Quebec City, December 14, 2020 © Pat Lachance / Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services via REUTERS
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
This Monday, December 14, the first Canadians were vaccinated against the coronavirus, EPADHS residents in Quebec and members of the healthcare staff in Ontario.
The start of vaccination comes days after Pfizer's vaccine approval on Wednesday, December 9, as Canada experiences a second wave much stronger than the first.
By early January, 50,000 Canadians are expected to be immunized during the largest campaign in Canadian history.
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With our correspondent in Quebec,
Pascale Guéricolas
Huge applause greeted Gisèle Lévesque, 89, the first Canadian to receive a dose of the
Covid-19 vaccine
in Quebec City, just before a caregiver from Toronto.
In Quebec, the authorities are prioritizing vaccination in EPADHS where nearly
two-thirds of deaths
have so far occurred
.
The two health ministers of Quebec and Canada shared this important moment, which finally constitutes a sign of hope in this crisis.
"
It's a huge job that we are starting today,"
Pablo Rodriguez recalls,
member of the ruling party.
It is a historic day.
We are starting something big today.
But this is only the beginning, let's continue together, thank you
!
"
40% of caregivers ready to be vaccinated
While nearly 95% of EPADHS residents targeted by the first vaccination campaign say they are ready to receive a first dose, this proportion drops to 40% among nursing staff.
Asked about this, Francine Dupuis, who heads several health establishments in Montreal,
remains
confident: “
It is certain that there is still additional work to be done to increase the total vaccination.
Give us time and we will continue to do communication work to encourage more people to be vaccinated.
"
In Quebec, the government is targeting mass vaccination in EPADHS where two-thirds of deaths have occurred.
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To read also
: Covid-19: Quebec will not regularize all its "guardian angels"
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