COVID-19 in Quebec: What you need to know Thursday

• Quebec reported 902 new cases ofCOVID-19 on Thursday and five newdeaths.
• Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 442,246 confirmed cases and 11,571people have died.
• There are 210people in hospital (a decrease of one), including 45in intensive care (a decrease of one).
• As of Thursday, the province has administered 13,501,953 doses of theCOVID-19 vaccine.
• 84 per cent of the eligible population in the province (age five and up) hasreceived one dose of vaccine, and 81per cent hasreceived two doses.

Note: Quebec's vaccination rate has been adjusted to include five- to 11-year-olds, causing the overall percentage to drop. Vaccinations for the group began on Wednesday.

Quebec'sHealth Ministry does not publish the number of vaccines administered on weekends and public holidays.

As of Thursday morning, about 163,000COVID-19 vaccinationappointments had been booked for children under the age of 12,according to Quebec's Health Ministry.

That number represents about a quarter of the children in Quebec who became eligible to get the shot when Health Canada approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the five to 11 age group.

More than 7,200 children received their first dose at vaccination centres on Wednesday. The province is hoping to give one dose to each eligible child by Christmas.

"They are brave. I am proud of them, really," Premier Franois Legault tweeted on Thursday. "I also want to thank their parents and the vaccination teams."

As of next week, vaccines will be administered in schools as well, to children whose parents have signed consent forms.

Vaccines for kids under 5

Children under the age of five could potentiallybe vaccinated for COVID-19 as early as the new year, according to Canada's chief public health officer.

Speaking to Radio-Canada, Theresa Tam said that clinical trials are currently underway for children aged six months to five years old.She said she hopes to see theresults of the those trialsby the end of the year.

The vaccines would then have to be approved by Health Canada, but Tam said that optimistically, vaccinations could start in early 2022.

Like for children aged five to 11, Tam said getting younger kids vaccinated would be an additional layer of protection for families and would limit disruptions,like having to stay home from daycare.

When asked if the pandemic could potentially be winding down, Tam said that the end of winter and early spring will likely be a "turning point" whenthe government could re-assess the situation at large.

WATCH | Quebec's vaccine program for children explained:

Quebecs COVID-19 vaccination program for children explained

3 years ago

Duration 2:26

Quebec children age five to 11 can now get their shots. The premier hopes parents will get their kids vaccinated, but he doesn't want to pressure them.

AstraZenicarecipients can sign up for boosters

Quebecers who received two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine can now book an appointment for a third dose.

This time, they will receive an mRNA vaccine, such as the ones developed by either Pfizer or Moderna.Appointments can be bookedon the Clic-Sant website.

Just under 740,000doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine were administered in Quebec.

New guidance on cloth masks

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has updated its guidelines on masks.

"In general, while non-medical masks can help prevent the spread of COVID-19, medical masks and respirators provide better protection," the PHACsaid on its COVID-19 mask information webpage.

The agency said in an email to CBC News that the changewas "based on the latest scientific evidence on SARS-CoV-2 virus variants of concern, increased understanding of the impacts of vaccination and immunity in the population, and new data available on mask types and their effectiveness."

Experts say this shift in messaging reflects a growing body of evidence suggesting that COVID-19 is largely spread through aerosols (tiny particles that can hang in the air), and not just through respiratory droplets (larger particles) transmitted by close contact with an infected person.

Long-term care ombudsman report

Quebec's ombudsmansubmitted her final report into what went wrong in the province's long-term care homes during the first wave of the pandemic,saying residents were "cast aside" andimploring the government to right its wrongs by making recommended changes immediately.

Marie Rinfret says she is askingQuebecHealth Minister Christian Dubto provide her with ongoing progress updates, starting this spring, until all27 recommendations in her report are implemented.

Most of the 3,890 deaths in Quebecduring the first wave were among CHSLD residents, while staff watched helplessly, fled the overwhelming conditionsor were themselves sick with the virus.

Officials knew how under-resourced long-term care homes were before the pandemic, Rinfret said, yet failed to act accordingly in the first wave. She also highlighted the fact that the homes were expected to deliver services similar to hospitals, despite lacking the expertise and personnel to do so.

Staff and personal protective equipment were transferred to hospitals, but the type of patient surge they expected never came.At the same time, hundreds of seniors were dying in long-term care facilities.

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