Quebec has lowered the vaccine eligibility age in Montreal to those 60 and up as pharmacies in the city begin inoculations Monday.
Health authorities announced the change for the Montreal region late Sunday while keeping the age limit at 65 and older for the rest of the province.
Meanwhile, about 350 pharmacies will join the province’s mass vaccination campaign beginning on Monday.
Pharmacies in Montreal started booking appointments last Monday, with plans to enlarge the program to the rest of the province in the coming weeks.
Benoit Morin, head of the association representing pharmacy owners, says each participating pharmacy has received a first delivery of 100 doses but adds he’s confident new deliveries will allow for more appointments.
In Montreal’s neighbouring regions, the government has targeted March 29 as the first date to make appointments at participating pharmacies, with vaccinations to begin during the week of April 5.
About 11 per cent of Quebec’s population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, with a total of 944,793 shots administered so far.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
