The Bob-Birnie Arena in Pointe-Claire, the Dollard-St-Laurent Sports Centre in Lasalle and the Gerry-Robertson Community Centre in the Pierrefonds–Roxboro borough are the latest to be added to the list of future super COVID-19 vaccination clinics.
Each one of them is supposed to be able to accommodate up to 2,000 people a day for the coveted shot in the arm.
Work on the Bob Birnie arena is well underway to retrofit one of the ice rinks into a massive vaccination area for the public.
John Belvedere, the Pointe-Claire mayor, says he’s expecting the place to be open on March 1.
“This is going to be one of the big vaccination centres. But the government will be announcing another approximately ten smaller ones being closer to other communities too,” Belvedere told Global News.
A few kilometers away, the Gerry Roberston Community Centre will be converted from a current COVID-19 diagnostic testing centre to a vaccination clinic.
Borough officials are also anticipating a March 1 opening.
“This is what we’re hoping for. Of course, we have to follow the directives of the health minister, number one, to make sure that the vaccines are coming quick enough for us to be able to do that,” Jim Beis, the Pierrefonds-Roxboro Borough mayor told Global News.
Beis said he has also informed the regional health board that he wants a drive-through clinic opened in his borough. He told Global News urban planners are already working to make it happen and he’s waiting for news from the regional health board.
READ MORE: Coronavirus vaccination underway in Quebec, details remain scant on mass inoculation plans
The atrium inside Montreal’s Olympic Stadium has also been identified as a future mega clinic and vaccinations have already started to be administered at the Palais-des-Congrès.
“I’m very anxious and in the next few weeks I will try to start visiting the places where we will have mass vaccination,” Quebec Premier François Legault said Thursday.
The CEO of the West Island regional health board couldn’t confirm if March 1 will be day one for vaccinations but said officials want to start as soon as possible.
“The more individuals who get vaccinated, the closer we will get to what they call herd immunity,” Lynne McVey, CEO of the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal told Global News.
Premier Legault told Global News he will be pressing the prime minister for more details on the vaccination rollout in a planned Thursday night phone call.