COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know this weekend
CBC
*The new cases are those reported to the Quebec government only. They are believed to be an underrepresentation of the virus's spread, given the limited availability of PCR tests and use of home testing kits.
*Quebec's Health Ministry announced it will no longer report its COVID-19 numbers on the weekend.
The vaccination clinic at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal will be closing its doors as of next Thursday, after getting out more than a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine since February of 2021.
Vaccinations will be available at the eight CLSCs in the east end of Montreal, said the regional health authority for the area, the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.
At its peak, roughly 3,000 people were vaccinated per day at the site, but that number averaged at 500 as of mid-February.
The CLSCs in the area will still offer vaccines with or without an appointment, the CIUSSS said in a news release Friday.
A total of 1,040,232 doses of the vaccine have been distributed at the site as of Friday, which has also been used for mass vaccination during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak.
Quebec pharmacists can now prescribe Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral drug Paxlovid to positive symptomatic patients who are at risk of developing complications from the virus, the Health Ministry announced Friday.
In a statement, the ministry said giving patients access to the medication through 1,900 pharmacies across the province will "encourage faster initiation of treatment to optimize the benefits for both the individual and the health-care system."
Administered in pill form, the drug is designed to help the body fight off the SARS-CoV-2 virus, reduce symptoms and shorten the period of illness. The Health Ministry expanded access to the treatment earlier this month.
"Paxlovid is an additional tool at our disposal to reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths among our most vulnerable people," said Health Minister Christian Dubé in a statement.
Seniors and those with health problems are invited to consult the criteria for the use of Paxlovid on the provincial health institute's website to see if they are likely to benefit from it. The use of the antiviral is not recommended for all patients due to drug interactions or contraindications.
A top infectious diseases specialist in Quebec said as the sixth wave of the pandemic accelerates across the province, the government should be doing more to curb it.
On Thursday, the health minister said mask mandates are still expected to be lifted in two weeks, despite surging cases of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations and differing views from the province's public health director.
