Registered Nurse at the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital Kirsten Davis was the first person in the Swan City to receive the vaccine Wednesday morning, just after 8 a.m. from LPN Kim Ford (Photo: Chris Beauchamp Photography / Alberta Health Services)

By Troy Gillard

COVID VACCINE

Medical, surgical and COVID-19 unit health-care workers added to vaccine priority list

Jan 8, 2021 | 4:37 PM

The provincial government has announced that vaccine appointments will be offered to health-care workers in medical, surgical and COVID-19 units in Alberta starting immediately.

This means about 3,300 COVID unit staff and 15,400 medical and surgical unit staff are now eligible for the vaccine.

Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, has also issued a directive allowing doctors, nurses and pharmacists who are not Alberta Health Services (AHS) employees to deliver the vaccine.

“There are many regulated health practitioners who are authorized and have the knowledge, skill and competence to issue a vaccine,” Hinshaw said. “This directive will help us empower as many of our dedicated health-care workers as possible to join the broader team and help immunize Albertans.”

As of Jan. 7, the province says 37,686 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta (852.3 doses per 100,000 population).