Premier Jason Kenney attended the Teepee Creek Stampede kick off breakfast at Keddie's Tack and Western Wear Tuesday morning (Photo: Jason Kenney / Facebook)

By Shaun Penner

Kenney visits GP

Kenney tours Grande Prairie area; hopes to see vaccine uptake rise in NW Alberta

Jul 6, 2021 | 2:25 PM

Premier Jason Kenney says he is happy to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel shining a bit brighter in recent days in Alberta, with mostly all public health restrictions having been lifted in the province as of Canada Day.

With Alberta’s move into the third and final stage of its reopening plan, Kenney made a trip to Grande Prairie this week, where he told EverythingGP he sees the province with a chance to finally begin moving forward from COVID-19.

“For me, at least personally, it feels like 10,000 pounds of weight and pressure off of my shoulders,” Kenney said. “And I think everyone feels that way. I mean it’s just been an incredibly brutal time with the uncertainty and just so much loss for so many people.”

“But, when I look back at it now, I think Albertans have really risen to the challenge.”

As he tours around the Peace Region, meeting with the likes of local government officials and the chamber of commerce, amogn other stops, the premier admits that he would like the Peace Region’s vaccination uptake to climb to keep COVID-19 at bay.

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“Yeah, GP has the lowest rate of vaccination of any city in Alberta, and there are parts of the northwest that are very low.”

As of July 4, Grande Prairie had 54.8 per cent of its eligible population at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19. That compares to 68.1 per cent in Medicine Hat, 65.5 per cent in Fort McMurray, approximately 78 per cent in Lethbridge and approximately 63 per cent in Red Deer.

Kenney says while the province is shifting its response from pandemic to endemic, admitting the virus will not be eliminated, he does have concern for areas with less overall vaccination protection.

“Some people will get sick, and some people will pass away from this disease, just like they do from influenza,” Kenney said. “But if you are vaccinated, it won’t affect you. Ninety-nine per cent of COVID deaths in the United States right now are amongst unvaccinated people.

“So, if you have areas where half the people are unvaccinated, there are a lot of people who are vulnerable.”

Understanding the Grande Prairie area holds a younger population than many other parts of the province and considering other factors that may have led to some not getting the vaccine, he hopes many more area residents will roll up their sleeves to get vaccinated.

“We just need to get those numbers up further. We are going to do everything we can to make it convenient for people in the northwest, we have already tried, but we will keep pushing on that.”

He says while he is looking forward to the province staying open for good with no more restrictions needed to manage the virus, he is concerned about resurgences of the virus in under-vaccinated regions.

“I am concerned about that, I honestly am,” he said, pointing to the more contagious Delta variant spreading, mostly in Calgary.

“We think we’ve got it under control in Calgary, where because we are at about 80 per cent of the adult population vaccinated there.”

But in areas with low uptake, as he points to Mackenzie County, which has only 20.9 per cent of its eligible population vaccinated, he is concerned for future larger outbreaks.

“If, frankly, and when the Delta variant comes to them, it’s 60 per cent more contagious than the regular COVID, and its more lethal, and it will take lives.”

Despite this, Kenney stressed that the choice to get the vaccine is in the hands of Albertans, not the government.

“It is people’s personal choice. But we’re just saying the life-saving choice is the choice to get vaccinated.”

Kenney says during his time in Grande Prairie he has, or will, make stops to see the Highway 40 twinning project, the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital and have meetings with faith leaders, among other stops.