Photo: Government of Alberta

By Shane Clausing

residents urged to get vaccinated

Kenney pleads with Peace Region residents to get vaccinated

Sep 28, 2021 | 6:10 PM

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney pleaded to residents, particularly in the Peace Region to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

During his Tuesday COVID-19 news conference, Kenney and other public health officials announced that the ICU capacity in the North Zone is currently sitting at 100 per cent.

Because of this, patients in the North Zone have been transferred to larger centres, such as Edmonton and Calgary, in order to get the care they need.

While ICU beds are full in the North Zone, there have been rumors going around on social media about potential triage protocols potentially being implemented in Alberta in areas where hospitals are under pressure.

When asked if those reports were true, Premier Kenney said they haven’t had to implement those protocols yet, but added the situation in regions like the North Zone (including Grande Prairie) is not good.

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“Triage protocols have not been triggered in Alberta,” said Kenney. “AHS (Alberta Health Services) have been effectively moving patients from zones that are full to zones where there is capacity.”

“There’s been a lot of patients moved from Grande Prairie and the Peace River hospital to Edmonton and Calgary hospitals over the course of the past months. It’s always been difficult to move patients, but it’s been necessary.”

The Premier did not specify how many patients from Grande Prairie and Peace River have been transferred to hospitals in the Edmonton and Calgary zones.

With patients in the North Zone and Grande Prairie being moved to places farther away, Kenney said one of the only ways the region can get out of this situation and to relieve pressure on the healthcare system is if people get vaccinated.

“People are going to have to step up and get vaccinated,” he stated. “The northwest part of Alberta has the lowest vaccination rates, the Peace Country in particular.”

“People have got to understand if they get into a car accident or have a heart attack they might not get the care they should because the majority of the population in the Peace Country is unvaccinated,” he explained.

“The health system in the northwest is under extreme pressure because it has I think just about the lowest level of vaccination of any region in Canada. It’s urgently important that people in that part of Alberta take this seriously, protect themselves, protect their loved ones and protect our healthcare system by getting vaccinated.”

As of Sept. 27, 56.3 per cent of residents in Grande Prairie are fully vaccinated, while 51.7 per cent are fully immunized in the County of Grande Prairie.

Across Alberta, 83.2 per cent of the eligible population has been given at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 74 per cent of those eligible have been fully immunized.

You can book a vaccination appointment through the Alberta Health Services website.