Health Minister Tyler Shandro (Photo: Government of Alberta / Flickr)

By Shaun Penner

More Albertans Eligible

More Alberta seniors, adults eligible for COVID-19 vaccine in March

Mar 4, 2021 | 4:00 PM

Alberta’s Health Minister says the province expects to administer one dose of COVID-19 vaccine to all Albertans aged 18 and older who want one by the end of June, as long as promised shipments of the vaccine arrive on schedule.

Tyler Shandro made the announcement as the province updated its vaccine rollout plan, one day after announcing they would be extending the time between first and second doses to four months.

Starting March 15, all Albertans aged 65-74 will be able to begin booking their first dose appointments, as part of Phase 2A of the vaccine rollout. Shandro says this will get the vaccine into the arms of 437,000 Albertans.

Due to issues with the phone and online booking system when seniors aged 75+ were able to book their appointments last week, the province is spacing out when people can book.

For example, on Day 1, anyone born in 1947 will be eligible to book an appointment. On Day 2, anyone born in 1948 will be able to book. In subsequent days, Albertans born in 1949 would be eligible, and so on.

Booking days will open up by year of birth until all Albertans between the ages of 65 and 74 have the chance to be vaccinated.

First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people aged 50 and older will also receive the vaccine starting the week of March 15. Those living on-reserve can book appointments through First Nations and Inuit Health and their local health centres, while those living off-reserve will be able to start booking online or via pharmacies on Day 1.

AstraZeneca Vaccine

Shandro also said starting March 10, 58,500 doses of the recently approved AstraZeneca vaccine will be available.

As it is not recommended to provide this vaccine to anyone over the age of 65, as per the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, Shandro announced that Albertans aged 50 to 64 without severe chronic health conditions will be able to book appointments to receive a first dose of this vaccine starting March 10.

Bookings for that will start for individuals born in 1957. If supply exists, Albertans born in 1958 to 1971 will then be offered a chance to book in the following days, rolling one year at a time.

Those in this age category, which falls under Phase 2D of the vaccine rollout, can also choose to wait for either the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, which they will be eligible for by early May, says the province.

“Today’s announcement is an exciting step forward, and one that should bring hope to us all,” said Shandro.

He added that with more doses of vaccine on the way, and the change to extend the period between first and second doses of the vaccine, the province feels confident that all adults in Alberta will have one shot of vaccine by the end of June.

“I should put an asterisk here, provided that the promise of vaccine shipments actually arrive as scheduled.”

Shandro also says that though this is exciting for Albertans to hear, the pandemic is not over, and public health restrictions still need to be followed, whether one is vaccinated or not.

“But as of today, there is more light at the end of the tunnel. We can see the other side, and if all goes according to plan, we are going to get there faster than we dared to hope.”

As of March 3, 266,231 doses of vaccine have been administered in Alberta. This includes 89,786 Albertans who have been fully immunized with two doses.

Vaccine appointments can be made to eligible Albertans by phoning Health Link at 811 or through the COVID-19 Vaccine Program website.