In a press conference with Quebec Minister François Legault, the minister states that children across the world have had to face the consequences of COVID, some have gotten ill, were hospitalized and some even had to deal with long-term effects.

The first reason he says his government believes children should . . .

be vaccinated, based on the recommendations made by scientists, is that it would greatly reduce these risks.

The second reason, according to Legault, is to avoid having to shut down schools as a measure to reduce the risk of wide-spread infections as they’ve had to close down some schools already. They do not want children to miss too many school days.

The third reason Legault states is that with the upcoming holiday season, vaccinating young children will decrease the risk of infection to older or more vulnerable members of their families.

The vaccinations will begin in the schools this week, according to Legault. Written consent from parents will be mandatory and appointments can currently be made on the clicsante.ca website. As of Nov. 23 more than 80,000 appointments had already been scheduled.

The minister cautions against stigmatizing children who have not been vaccinated however, adding that there is no pressure from government to get the children vaccinated. It remains a personal choice.

He adds that vaccination passports in restaurants will not be demanded of children 12 years of age and younger.

The Quebec government hopes to have completed administering the first dose of the vaccine to children by Christmas, with the second dose scheduled to be administered eight weeks later.

Some European countries have enforced confinement once again, because their numbers are worrisome, according to Legault, who said the US currently has six times more hospitalizations than we do here in Quebec.

He attributes this to the fact that we have a higher vaccination rate; he also says that having applied the vaccine passport before many other countries has proven to be an effective measure.

He adds that we have also observed the recommended eight-week interval for the second dose of the vaccine which has rendered it more effective, as per our public health recommendations.

“Scientists have made sure the vaccine is very safe for children. They will receive a pediatric dose,” said Legault.

If parents wish to accompany their children aged 5 to 11 years old, they can attend a walk-in clinic located at the Palais des Congrès de Gatineau to receive the vaccine (Pfizer only – with consent from a parent or legal guardian) according to the following schedule.

Palais des Congrès de Gatineau : Saturday – 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For appointments at the Campbell’s Bay Clinic go to clicsante.ca. People can come without an appointment according to the following schedule:

Palais des Congrès de Gatineau : Monday. Wednesday and Friday – 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. / Tuesday and Thursday – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. / Saturday and Sunday – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

In order to make an informed decision, Legault urges parents to find all the answers to their questions on the province’s website: https://www.quebec.ca.

CISSSO listed the following numbers on its website for Pontiac’s local network of services as of Nov. 29:

Bristol: 6 (no increase)

Bryson: 10 (no increase)

Campbell’s Bay: 18 (+1)

Chichester: 8 (no increase)

Clarendon: 5 or less

Fort-Coulonge: 49 (+1)

Île-du-Grand-Calumet: 8 (no increase)

L’Îsles-aux-Allumettes: 25 (no increase)

Litchfield: 5 or less (no increase)

Mansfield and Pontefract: 100 (no increase)

Otter Lake: 8 (no increase)

Portage-du-Fort: 5 or less (no increase)

Shawville: 36 (no increase)

Sheenboro: 5 or less (no increase)

Thorne: 5 or less (no increase)

Waltham: 12 (no increase)

The highly mutated COVID-19 variant Omicron that has emerged from South Africa has prompted G7 countries to closely monitor the variant. It has prompted border closures and contract tracing in countries around the world.

According to an Ottawa Citizens News article, four cases of the new variant have been reported in Ottawa. While the four travelled separately, they had all come to Ottawa from Nigeria.

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