Riel Roussopoulos
CAE to host COVID-19 vaccination centre as companies hope to accelerate inoculations
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Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube, left, and Daniel Pare, director of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine program, watch an employee simulate a vaccination at the CAE plant in Montreal on March 19, 2021.
Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
Aviation-training specialist CAE said on Friday it will be ready to host mass COVID-19 vaccinations as early as Easter, becoming one of the first major Canadian publicly traded companies to carry out inoculations of workers and the public.
Canadian manufacturers have warned that a slower vaccine rollout in Canada could put them at a competitive disadvantage with companies south of the border, with employees in the United States working in industries such as auto plants now being inoculated.
Montreal-based CAE is partnering with the province of Quebec to transform offices at its own cost into a vaccination center to inoculate workers of all ages, their family members and the surrounding community to support a provincial ramp-up in May and June, Health Minister Christian Dubé told reporters.
CAE Chief Executive Marc Parent said the company would follow government directives on vaccination priority and would not favor company workers over the public.
Quebec has set a goal of offering a first dose to all its residents by June 24.
Air Canada, Bombardier Inc and Aéroports de Montréal are in joint talks with Quebec to run a vaccination site, although details are not finalized, representatives for the Montreal-based airline and corporate planemaker said.
Quebec is looking to enlist up to 50 companies to operate vaccination hubs across several regions to help accelerate its immunization campaign for people under 60 starting in May. The Canadian Press
Canada has wrestled with a slower rollout of vaccines than other countries due to a lack of domestic production, with just 8 per cent of its population receiving at least one dose compared with 23 per cent in the U.S.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has set a September target for having all Canadian adults vaccinated, while President Joe Biden has told U.S. states to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1.
Canada is currently vaccinating older residents, but some provinces like British Columbia have said they would begin inoculating agricultural workers, including temporary foreign workers.
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Published at Fri, 19 Mar 2021 19:39:00 +0000
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