In cases
when residents are at or near the end of the 112-day period, health boards are instructed to vaccinate people as soon as possible — a phrase that is underlined and in bold in the document signed by public health director Dr. Horacio Arruda.
Dr. Sophie Zhang, who oversees 15 long-term care centres in Montreal, said the new directive will help provide maximum protection for patients who remain vulnerable despite having received one dose.
“I am pleased to see that the government has been swift in responding to our request that the second dose be given immediately to long-term care residents,” she said in an email. Ideally, people would receive the same vaccine for both shots, but with supply shortages and “the fact that most vaccine experts are fairly confident a mixed-dose regime will be safe and effective, I think this is the right thing to do,” she added.