Students at Laval Senior Academy are among some of the lucky ones.
Hundreds of adolescents in the 12- to 17-year-old age group are getting the coveted COVID-19 vaccine from the comfort of their campus.
The local regional health authority, the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de Laval (CISSS de Laval), is bringing hundreds of doses to the high school, vaccinating up to 600 students in a single day.
“We organized this today to try to have more students everyday because we’re trying to have students talk to their friends to come downstairs,” Isabelle Parent, vaccination director with CISSS de Laval, told Global News.
“So, as you can see it’s very popular.”
Fifty-three per cent of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 in Laval have now received at least one dose of the vaccine. That matches the Quebec provincial average but is far higher than the average on the Island of Montreal, which is at 40 per cent.
Laval health authorities attribute their success to taking mobile clinics to the schools. Laval Senior Academy is one of 17 schools where vaccinations are being offered on site.
“The kids don’t have to go anywhere. They come out of class and they come directly here,” Nathalie Rollin, principal at Laval Senior Academy, told Global News.
Quebec lawmakers and public health officials are trying to make sure all students are fully vaccinated before the start of the next academic season.
Students Global News spoke to are thrilled to have received the vaccine without needing an appointment or going to a clinic.
“It makes it more convenient for me,” Shawn Santos, Laval Senior Academy Secondary V student, told Global News.
Getting one step closer to full inoculation is giving students a stronger sense of security.
“I feel like I’m going to be safer now, knowing that I got the shot,” Marisa D’Ippolito, Laval Senior Academy Sec V student, told Global News.
Graduating student Vittorio Ambrosino agrees, telling Global News, “I feel like I’m going to be a lot safer. It’s going to be a lot harder for me to catch COVID.”
The CISSS de Laval is also planning to bring the COVID-19 vaccines to the parks and other public areas this summer to reach as many residents as possible.
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