Alberta reports 2M vaccines administered, 1,558 new COVID-19 cases

Alberta Health Services, pharmacies, and physician clinics have now delivered two million COVID-19 vaccine doses across the province.

On Thursday afternoon, the province reported that 2,019,713 doses of the vaccine have been administered, as of May 12.

This means that almost 44% of Albertans now have some protection against COVID-19, with 322,247 individuals considered fully immunized against the virus with two doses of the vaccine.

“The tremendous response from Albertans is very encouraging in our fight against COVID-19,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, chief medical officer of health, in a news release.

“We are on our way to widespread immunity for Alberta,” the doctor continued, “but we still have much work to do before we reach that point.” She reminded Albertans that it’s important to continue to follow public health measures until all eligible individuals can be vaccinated.

More than 3.8 million Albertans currently qualify for the COVID-19 vaccine. Immunization appointments can be made at a participating pharmacy, by using Alberta Health Services’ online booking system, or by calling 811.

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Also on Thursday, Alberta reported 1,558 additional COVID-19 cases, a decrease from Wednesday’s count of 1,779. This puts the number of active cases in the province at 24,586.

The number of hospitalizations due to the virus has decreased by 15 since Wednesday, to 722. This includes 177 Albertans in intensive care.

Nine new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported over the last 24 hours, bringing the province’s death toll to 2,132.

The total number of cases that Alberta has reported throughout the course of the pandemic is now sitting at 215,193, with 188,475 individuals having recovered from the virus.