COVID-19 vaccine delivery expected for Alberta in "early 2021": Shandro

A COVID-19 vaccine could be arriving in Alberta within the new year.

Alberta’s Minister of Health Tyler Shandro announced in a series of tweets on Wednesday that the province is participating in the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines from both Pfizer and Moderna, two companies that have reportedly created vaccines that are over 90% effective.

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Shandro stated that the first shipments of these vaccines are expected to arrive in Alberta in “early 2021.”

“We will be working with @AHS_media and federal public health officials to prioritize distribution for Alberta’s most vulnerable, health care workers, and residents in continuing care.”

Both Pfizer and Moderna’s vaccines must be kept at low temperatures (-75°C for the former and -20°C for the latter), which may create difficulties in effective mass distribution.

Moderna expects vaccinations to begin with high-priority groups, including healthcare workers, the elderly, and people with underlying medical conditions. Mass quantities will be available for the rest of the population by spring 2021.

We will be working with @AHS_media and federal public health officials to prioritize distribution for Alberta’s most vulnerable, health care workers and residents in continuing care.

More details will be shared as they are available. 2/2 #abhealth #ableg

— Tyler Shandro (@shandro) November 18, 2020

Shandro’s tweets note that Alberta is expected to receive around 465,000 doses from Pfizer and around 221,000 from Moderna.

This combined 686,000 accounts for roughly 15% of Alberta’s population.