Here's what Phase 1 of COVID-19 vaccinations will look like in Alberta

Dec 10 2020, 9:25 pm

Alberta is to begin administering the COVID-19 vaccine as of next Wednesday.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced on Wednesday that the first 3,900 doses of the Pfizer vaccination would be given to Alberta’s frontline healthcare workers beginning on December 16. The announcement was followed up by a press release from the Province detailing what the rest of Phase 1 would look like.

According to the release, Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccine Phase 1 will run from December of this year to April 2021 and will focus on immunizing healthcare workers.

The first will go to workers at the highest risk facilities, including at the Foothills Hospital and Peter Lougheed Centre in Calgary as well as the University of Alberta and Royal Alexandra Hospitals in Edmonton.

The release states that Alberta currently has eight locations with freezers capable of the ultra-cold storage necessary for the Pfizer vaccine, which requires two doses spaced a month apart before it is effective.

Staff at long-term and designated supportive living facilities will be offered the vaccinations in January, the release states, “in order to protect vulnerable Albertans.”

By April 2021, the province plans to have begun vaccinating seniors aged 75 and older, on-reserve First Nations individuals, and on-settlement Metis people who are 65 and older, and other healthcare workers who are most likely to transmit the virus to those at greatest risk.

The province plans to release exact timelines and further details about Phase 1 at the beginning of January.

Chandler WalterChandler Walter

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