EDMONTON — Alberta’s health minister says 437,000 people can soon begin booking appointments for the next round of COVID-19 vaccinations and the province hopes to hit a major milestone before July.
“We now expect to offer all Albertans aged 18 and over a first dose of vaccine by the end of June,” Tyler Shandro said Thursday.
But he noted that this goal depends on vaccine shipments from the federal government arriving on time. Earlier shipments this year did not come as expected.
"We will keep pushing the federal government to actually deliver the vaccines that they have promised, and we’ll keep expanding our roll out to get doses into arms as fast as possible,” Shandro said.
So far, Alberta has delivered 266,000 doses of vaccine. About 176,000 Albertans have been vaccinated, including 90,000 fully immunized with the recommended two doses.
Shandro said residents aged 65 to 74, and First Nations, Inuit and Metis aged 50-plus, can begin booking March 15.
The province had originally not expected to begin this stage of vaccination until April.
Shandro said Alberta can now begin to accelerate the shots for two reasons: a new vaccine and a change in the vaccine regimen.
Last week Health Canada approved a third vaccine, from Oxford-AstraZeneca.
Shandro said the first 58,000 doses will be available starting March 10, but there is a caveat.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization, or NACI, has said while AstraZeneca is just as effective as the other vaccines, due to incomplete data it recommends it not be given to those over 64.
Shandro said for that reason, the AstraZeneca vaccine will for now be offered to adults aged 50 to 64 who don’t have a severe chronic illness.
The vaccination ramp-up is also due to a recommendation this week by the NACI that the wait for a second dose can be safely extended from the original six-week time limit to as long as four months.
The NACI says evidence shows a first dose is 80 per cent effective for months.
British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba, Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Saskatchewan will implement the delay in order to get more people inoculated quicker.
Canada has already been using vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna.
Alberta’s economy has been on a modified lockdown since cases spiked dangerously high in December. Retail shops and faith services are open at 15 per cent capacity, but indoor gatherings are banned, and outdoor get-togethers are capped at 10 people.
From a high of 900-plus people in hospital with COVID two months ago, there were 245 as of Thursday, including 47 in intensive care. There have been 1,911 deaths.
Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health, reported 331 new cases for a total active caseload of 4,613.
Alberta has recorded 541 cases of variant COVID strains, which can spread far faster and have the potential to swamp a health system if left unchecked.
This week, the province reported a variant case at Churchill Manor, a south Edmonton seniors centre. The facility saw one case spread to 27 cases within days.
The daughter of one of the Churchill Manor residents, at a news conference with the Opposition NDP, said she fears for the safety of her 94-year-old father.
Rose Zinnick said her father got his COVID-19 inoculation Monday, the same day he was told he tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Zinnick said Churchill Manor recently began allowing visitors and gatherings. She said her father told her people were sitting four to a table in the dining hall.
“Now it’s two weeks later and there’s an outbreak, and many residents, including my dad, have COVID. I’m so angry and frustrated and disappointed,” said Zinnick.
The Manor did not return a request for comment.
Alberta Health Services, in an email, said the manor is an independent residence not contracted to AHS, but that it is now involved to ensure residents and staff are protected.
The NDP also showed pictures depicting a mouse infestation in the facility. AHS confirmed the infestation and said it is ensuring pest control is brought in.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 4, 2021.
Dean Bennett, The Canadian Press
