Alberta physicians to start offering COVID-19 vaccines next week

Beginning Monday, April 19, there will be 10 physician clinics across Alberta offering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible individuals.

In a Wednesday morning news release, the Alberta government announced that the province will be participating in a pilot project to administer COVID-19 vaccines at community clinics.

This pilot is designed to test the most effective ways to transport, book, and administer the vaccine through physician clinics.

The government says that Alberta Health Services (AHS), the Alberta Medical Association, and Primary Care Network physician leaders have been working together to incorporate community physicians into the provincial vaccine rollout as supply increases.

“Since the start of the pandemic, community physicians have worked hard to support and protect their patients,” said Health Minister Tyler Shandro.

“This pilot is another step forward,” continued Shandro. “Albertans will now have another way to receive their COVID-19 vaccines from an important part of our healthcare system. We’re aiming to expand this pilot to many, many more physician clinics as soon as possible.”

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According to the Alberta government, each participating clinic will initially receive 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

The news release said that, based on the learnings from this pilot, the program will expand to include more clinics in May.

There will be two participating clinics in each AHS zone during the pilot; however, exact locations will not be publicly posted during this phase. A complete list of participating clinics will be released when the rollout expands next month.

Clinics will be contacting eligible patients and handling their appointment bookings directly.

As of April 12, 970,272 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta, with 186,156 people having received the two doses required to be considered fully immunized.