Maimonides residents to be among first COVID vaccine recipients in Quebec

Maimonides patients first to get vaccine Elderly patients at the Maimonides Geriatric Centre in Montreal will be the first in the province to receive the COVID-19 vaccine next week.

Montreal — The Maimonides long-term care home in Cote-Saint-Luc is doing a "simulation exercise" this week in preparation for getting some of Quebec's first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine next week.

The care home, which has been dealing with an outbreak of COVID-19 for the last several weeks, will be one of just a few places in Quebec that will get some of the province's 4,000 promised doses of the Pfizer vaccine when they arrive next week, administrators confirmed to families in a letter sent Tuesday.

"I am pleased to inform you that Maimonides has been selected for early access to the newly approved Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine," wrote the CIUSSS director, Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg, in an email.

"We are very fortunate to have been chosen since vaccines are the most effective way to save lives and protect our most vulnerable loved ones."

This means the home is also the site of one of Quebec's first logistical trial runs when it comes to administering the vaccine.

"A substantial team of experts from the government, our CIUSSS and Maimonides is already working on the strategy, logistics and readiness for this significant program," wrote Rosenberg.

The simulation exercise will happen this week, and vaccination will begin next week, he wrote. The home is also hosting a "town hall" meeting for residents' families to answer questions. Residents' family representatives will be called to get consent for the vaccination.

"Many of you are probably wondering whether this COVID-19 vaccine is safe," he wrote. "The answer is an unqualified 'Yes.' It was created by Pfizer and BioNTech and has been approved in many countries, and is expected to be approved by Health Canada in the coming days."

Even after the residents get their two doses -- the Pfizer vaccine requires two doses, given three weeks apart -- full precautionary measures and protective gear will remain in place, Rosenberg said.

He said that the vaccine's protective effects kick in one or two weeks after the second dose. The vaccine has been determined to be more than 95 per cent effective.