After outcry, teachers will also get vaccinated in west-end pilot project
Staff now included after shots initially being limited to parents
After initially being limited to parents, a vaccination blitz aimed at controlling a more contagious variant of COVID-19 in Côte Saint-Luc and the Snowdon area of Montreal has been expanded to teachers as well.
The vaccination campaign, announced Thursday, targets parents of school- and daycare-aged children in the two areas and initially did not include school staff.
Dr. Mylène Drouin, Montreal's public health director, announced Friday that school staff in direct contact with students would also be eligible.
PROJET PILOTE VACCINATION VARIANTS <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/COVID19?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#COVID19</a> (1/2) Le <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/vaccin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#vaccin</a> sera disponible pour les parents des <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/%C3%A9coles?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#écoles</a> ou <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/garderies?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#garderies</a> des voisinages ET pour le personnel scolaire en contact direct avec les enfants. Tous seront avisés par leur établissement scolaire pour la prise de RDV.
—@Santepub_MtlTeachers had initially expressed disappointment that they wouldn't be inoculated, and Education Minister Jean-François Roberge also voiced his concern.
On Thursday, Drouin had kept the door open to also vaccinating daycare workers and teachers but said the focus would be on parents for now.
She said the coronavirus variant first identified in the United Kingdom has been spreading quickly in the two areas in the past several weeks.
The campaign, which begins next Monday, is an attempt to stop it from making its way into other parts of the city.