Celebrating one year since Montreal administered first COVID-19 vaccine

One year ago, a UPS truck escorted by the Sureté du Quebec arrived at Maimonides Geriatric Centre carrying what were some of the first COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in Canada.

For staff and residents, it marked a significant turning point in the pandemic.

“It allowed us to have some measure of security that we were able to restore a safe environment for the residents,” says Dr. Lawrence Rosenberg. “To bring back their loved ones and to begin to open up the building in a way that made it livable once again is amazing,” added the president and CEO of the West-Central Health Authority.

They celebrated the anniversary in a small room that was deserted for much of 2020  but now is full of staff and residents once again.

“It’s been a rollercoaster,” says Jennifer Clarke the associate director of long-term care at Maimonides. “The things we went through during the pandemic, the lead-up to the vaccinations and now to where we are today, which is somewhat more of a normal long-term care environment, it’s wonderful,” she adds.

It was an extra special day for resident Gloria Lallouz. On Dec. 14, 2020, she became the first person in Montreal to receive the first COVID-19 vaccine. She says the vaccine gave her hope and remembers how lonely lockdown was.

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“How much freedom we were going to have nobody knew,” she says. “But at least the first part was getting out of the room and freedom to walk up and down the halls.”

And she’s been enjoying that freedom, adding she will do what is necessary to keep it.

“I’m boosted up to here! And if they need a booster for another variant, my arm is always there.”

There have been almost no new cases of COVID-19 at Maimonides over the last year but staff says they know they aren’t out of the woods yet, especially with the rise of variants such as Omicron.

Boosters have been given to the majority of residents while staff will soon receive them.