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By now, I’ve visited the Portal3.clicsante.ca website at least 15 times to make Covid-19 vaccination appointments for 5 people. That’s often enough to know appointment availabilities are like shifting sand. The landscape changes from minute to minute.
At 8:30 a.m. last Tuesday, the Quebec government opened up AstraZeneca vaccinations for people age 45 and over. I was on the Portal3.clicsante.ca website within half an hour.
To be honest, I’d heard during Premier Legault’s press conference that the website would be updated at midnight, so I was there at 6 a.m. The sands had not shifted, so I went back to sleep. And overslept.
By 9 a.m., the only availability for 45-year-olds closer than Drummondville was at one pharmacy on King East in Sherbrooke. Some other 20 sites, either offering AstraZeneca vaccines for 45-year-olds or Pfizer or Moderna for 60-year-olds, had “no availability at the moment.”
I snapped up a May 1st appointment for my son. Two days later, no availabilities were left.
The landscape changes so quickly that the webmasters must have trouble keeping up. The vaccine information page still says “you must be born in or before 1966” to be eligible for AstraZeneca. That would be age 55. But just six inches away on the same page, it says people “age 45” are eligible.
My friend who is under 45, but is a front-line worker in a grocery store, brought me up to date on the list of “essential workers in environments at high risk of an outbreak.” Bizarrely, grocery stores are not on it.
Who is on it? Staff in schools, childcare facilities, slaughterhouses, community organizations, and mines in remote areas. Also, public safety workers (firefighters, police, etc.) and temporary foreign farm workers. For now.
I’m interested in learning what to watch for in terms of post-vaccination side-effects. The messenger RNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer) mostly gave us a day of grateful sleep and a few days of soreness, as our immune systems snapped into action. Soon we were replete with antibodies.
But what about the viral vector-based vaccine, AstraZeneca?
The Quebec health website’s list of possible side-effects is very similar to that for Moderna and Pfizer. Except for the blood-clotting problem that can occur in less than 10 per 100,000 people. Ok, I haven’t won the lottery yet, but just in case, what do we look for?
It can happen within 4 to 20 days, the site says. It says to contact a doctor or Info-Santé 811 quickly if you have shortness of breath, severe headache, or one that lasts a few days, blurred vision, chest pain, swollen legs, abdominal pain, or skin bruising.
So that ‘s what to look for. Stack that remote possibility against the reality of 340,397 Covid-19 cases in Quebec, 716 hospitalizations, and 10,838 deaths, as of this writing. I’m feeling really good about our chances!
BATTLE OF POETS
Last chance to enjoy the Lennoxville Library’s Zoom debate, Lennoxville Reads…Poetry. It is Wednesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. via Zoom (find the link at bibliolennoxvillelibrary.ca/activities/) and is free and open to all. Five articulate readers will champion five gutsy books by Quebec English-speaking poets.
WEALTHY MIND
Townshippers’ Association plans a series of five “Building Your Mental Wealth” workshops over the next month. All are via Zoom, on Fridays, and the first four are from 12 to 1 p.m.
April 30, Sleep is the topic. Health and fitness professional Catherine St-Pierre will give expert tips for sleeping more soundly, preparing for sleep, and sleep positions.
May 7, learn some practical ways to declutter your mind, body, and spirit with Jamie Moar, a mind, body, and spirit teacher and coach.
May 14, learn how reflexology can reduce stress and anxiety with Carol Faguy, certified training reflexologist.
May 21, nutritionist Cora Loomis will give an introduction to intuitive eating, which means learning how to trust and respect your body and its natural weight.
May 28, from 7 to 8 p.m. is planned an inspirational and interactive wrap-up activity.
To register, for information, or for help mastering Zoom, email Michelle at ml@townshippers.org.
BALANCE, NOT BURNOUT
Strategies for regulating stress can take you from burnout to balance, and that is the topic of a workshop on Wednesday, May 19, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. via Zoom. It will be led by Amanda Rocheleau, a social worker and compassion fatigue specialist. She will “explore the impact of chronic stress in our lives and introduce fundamental daily practices that we can all do to help process our stress in order to prevent burnout.”
To register, for information, or for help mastering Zoom, email Vanessa at va@townshippers.org. This workshop is offered by Mental Health Estrie in collaboration with Townshippers’ Association.
CHURCHES
Baptist. In-person Sunday services for 25 or fewer persons with Covid-19 protocols in place (wash hands at the entrance, stay 2 metres apart, use assigned seating, wear masks, do not sing, do not shake hands, and leave via the exit door). The service in French is at 9 a.m., and in English at 11 a.m. Persons with flu symptoms are asked not to attend services. The pastor’s message is also available on YouTube: For the link, contact Pastor Michel Houle: 819-239-8818.
Anglican. Bishop Bruce Myers continues to offer Home Prayers at 10:30 a.m. Sundays on Facebook, and at quebec.anglican.ca (Worship Videos). Info: 819-887-6802, or quebec.anglican.ca.
United. Home worship services are available for pickup Fridays after 2 p.m. at Sawyerville United Church (box on top of freezer in porch), at Trinity United Church (in plastic bag at basement door). To receive services by mail or email, or for pastoral care, contact Rev Tami Spires at 819-452-3685 or spiresta@hotmail.com. Facebook info: United Eaton Valley Pastoral Charge.
Do you have news to share? Call 819-300-2374 or email rawrites@gmail.com by May 3 for publication May 12 and by May 17 for May 26.
