Vaccine appointments quadruple after Quebec requires vax passport for liquor, cannabis stores

First-dose vaccine appointments quadrupled in Quebec after the provincial government required vaccine passports to buy alcohol and marijuana.

An average of 1,500 appointments for first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in Quebec has now shot up to around 6,000 in the wake of the move, which will go into effect on Jan. 18, the Montreal Gazette reported.

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dube recently tweeted (translated from the original French text): "In just a few days, the amount of appointment requests for first doses have done from 1.5k per day to more than 6k yesterday."

"Thanks to all those who have decided to get vaccinated. It's not too late to get your first dose. Protect yourselves," continued Dube in the Friday tweet.

The government runs the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ) stores, as well as the cannabis dispensaries, under the umbrella of the Société québécoise du cannabis (SQDC). Both organizations have various storefronts scattered throughout the province and the new rules will apply to the locations mid-month.

Dube also mentioned that the vaccine passport rule was implemented becuase of the current surge in cases of COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant.

Currently, over 78 percent of Quebec residents are considered to be fully vaccinated by the government, according to Canadian government data.