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March 19, 2021 – Federal and provincial government update on the COVID-19 pandemic
Here is an update on recent decisions and actions by the Canadian and Québec governments in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Big companies for reinforcement
The Québec government is calling on big companies to help increase the province’s vaccination capacity in preparation for May and June when the vaccination pace should reach its peak.
The minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, is hoping that 20 to 50 big companies will offer their facilities and personnel specialized in care to help vaccinate their employees, their families and the surrounding population.
Big companies must commit to administering, over a period of 10 to 15 weeks, approximately 500,000 doses during the first round of vaccination, as well as during the second round.
Over 750 companies have expressed interest in taking part in this initiative. To register, they can go to the new website vaccinationentreprise.com. The vaccination hubs will be announced on April 5.
New vaccination record reached
Minister Dubé is very pleased with the vaccination operation since it began. Yesterday again, he announced that a new vaccination peak had been reached, with 38,400 people inoculated.
The rate will increase to over 50,000 people a day as of May.
Full vaccination by end of September
The increased supply of the COVID-19 vaccine prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to announce that all Canadians who want to be vaccinated will be able to receive their first or second dose by the end of September.
The federal minister of Procurement, Anita Anand, confirmed that Canada will receive over 36.5 million doses by the end of June, while acquisition agreements also guarantee the delivery of 118 million doses by the end of September.
The U.S. lends Canada 1.5 million doses
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked U.S. President Joe Biden for authorizing the loan of 1.5 million doses of the British AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada.
These doses are being shipped to Canada because the U.S. Department of Health has still not authorized this vaccine.
Prime Minister Trudeau reassured Canadians: “Any vaccine approved in Canada is safe and you can have complete faith in it. The best vaccine is the first one that’s offered to you,” he said.