Quebec to begin COVID-19 vaccinations with two long-term care homes

For more on today’s top stories and the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country, please refer to our live updates below throughout the day, as well as our COVID-19 news hub.

Quebec officials revealed new information about the province’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution plans, set to begin with long-term care homes.

Christian Dubé, the province’s health minister, said the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will be deployed to two unidentified long-term care facilities, expected to vaccinate 2,000 people.

He added that between 22,000 and 28,000 people are expected to be vaccinated between Dec. 1 of this year and Jan. 4, 2021.

This comes after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will receive up to 249,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine by the end of December, with the initial shipment coming as early as next week.

“We see the finish line of this marathon but at the same time, I don’t want to lose focus,” Dubé said at a press conference on Monday. “We see the vaccine that can start next week but people will continue to be sick over the next few months.”

Quebec reported 1,577 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and confirmed 22 more deaths, including three that occurred in the last 24 hours.

There are currently 818 people with COVID-19 in Quebec hospitals, including 105 in intensive care.

Check out our COVID-19 in Canada topic page for latest news, tips, health updates, cases and more.