by: jesse feith
with
vaccination coverage still low
among teens and young adults in montreal, the city’s public health department is partnering with the gaming industry in hopes of convincing more young people to get vaccinated.
montreal public health announced a new contest tuesday morning specifically for video game enthusiasts, encouraging them to use the hashtag #gamervacciné_e to be eligible for some $25,000 in prizes and scholarships.
the city will also be hosting a special event at the palais des congrès in september that will double as a small gaming convention and
covid-19
vaccination blitz.
“to date, the population (in montreal) has responded very well to vaccination, except for 12 to 17 year olds,” said dr. paul leguerrier, one of the directors of the city’s vaccination campaign.
“we’ve put a lot of effort into reaching young people,” leguerrier added, “but the video gaming community is one we haven’t tried to reach directly yet.”
dominique lebel, head of the guilde du jeu vidéo du québec, said it’s estimated that about 50 per cent of the province’s population plays video games. that percentage is likely much higher among teens and young adults, he added.
“in montreal, we have both sides of gaming. on one side we have gamers, but at the same time we have an important industry with thousands of employees,” lebel said. “the idea is to combine the two to convince young people to get vaccinated.”