Public health authorities in Quebec opened new vaccination centres Monday, including a mega-clinic at the Palais des Congrès in Montreal, to keep up with demand for inoculation.

The Palais des Congrès clinic has the ability to vaccinate up to 300 people per hour, said Montreal's Public Health Agency.

Simone Decosta showed up at 7 a.m. Monday morning at the Palais des Congrès with her two children, looking to be vaccinated. She says she was surprised but pleased to find a very short lineup.

"I was a bit afraid that it would be crowded because it was a new place and downtown but it seems to be all right," she told CBC News. "I'm very glad."

Anyone is welcome at the downtown clinic, which offers free parking, public health officials said.

The Palais des Congrès clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Dec. 18. Doors open and coupons start being distributed at 5:30 a.m.

The second clinic opened at the Édouard-Rivest Recreation Centre in Montreal East.

Thousands line up for shots on the weekend

Montreal's H1N1 vaccination clinics were busy this weekend as parents of school-age children lined up to get their children the flu shot.

More than 50,000 Montrealers lined up at vaccination clinics on the weekend to get inoculated against the H1N1 flu virus.

Public health officials said all clinics across the island were busy, while clinics in Rivière-des-Prairies and the West Island reached their limit early in the morning on both Saturday and Sunday.

Dr. Richard Lessard of Montreal Public Health said officials are still finalizing their plans to bus school children to vaccination centres to get their shots.

But he said parents shouldn't hesitate to bring their children themselves.

"Most parents we talked to are kind of reluctant to let their small ones go to the vaccination centre by bus, they would rather be with their kids," said Lessard.

"So I think they will have the opportunity this week after school to come to our vaccination centre and have their kids immunized."

Lessard said Montreal is expecting another shipment of H1N1 vaccine in the coming days. That shipment, he said, should be enough to supply the city's vaccination clinics for the rest of the week.