COVID-19 vaccinations quadruple after Quebec needs them to buy weed

The solution to getting reluctant people to get their COVID-19 vaccine might just be grass. At least according to a new measure by the Canadian government.

According to the Montreal Gazette, the province of Quebec last Thursday introduced a rule preventing alcohol and marijuana purchases unless they have the COVID-19 vaccine. That decision has resulted in a surge in COVID-19 vaccinations, with initial appointments quadrupling within a day of the government’s announcement.

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According to Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé, the average appointment rate was 1,500 people per day. After inquiries from liquor stores and pharmacies for vaccination certificates, this number rose to 6,000 appointments per day.

Quebec’s decision to require vaccine passports for purchases of alcohol and cannabis will go into effect January 18. It was triggered by a significant increase in COVID-19 cases and hospital stays due to the highly contagious Omicron variant, in which cases rose from its standard 3,000 per day to 40,000. Quebec is home to Montreal, Canada’s second largest city with 1.8 million people.

“Yes, that’s very difficult at the moment,” Dubé said on Thursday on The Washington Post. “But we take all measures to minimize the impact on our staff, on our system.”

Quebec has the fifth highest full vaccination rate in any Canadian province, with 78 percent of the population being fully vaccinated earlier this year. About a fifth of Quebec’s population is unvaccinated, yet they make up almost half of all ICU patients.

Photo by Maik Jonietz via Unsplash

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The province is one of the strictest in terms of COVID-19 prevention measures, requiring vaccination certificates to be shown for most activities, including entering health facilities, indoor sports venues, cinemas, bars and nightclubs. It also has a curfew from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM