EDMONTON (660 NEWS) – COVID-19 vaccinations will start to be offered to seniors around Alberta as the province ramps up its vaccination campaign.
Residents in long-term care facilities and health care staff at the front lines are now covered, so shots will be offered more widely.
Starting Friday, Albertans over the age of 75 who live in seniors homes or other similar settings can begin booking appointments for a shot.
Then, on Feb. 24, vaccinations will be available to all Albertans over 75.
Kenney says they “finally” have clarity from the feds on vaccine shipments. They will now move towards vaccinating everyone 75-years-old and over. Will start to be offered at all seniors living facilities. pic.twitter.com/dX2vsGX0dG
— Tom Ross (@Tommy_Slick) February 19, 2021
After that, phase two takes effect possibly in April, starting with older Albertans, then adults with health conditions, and then people who live in areas at risk of fast virus spread.
Now we have details on phase two of the vaccine rollout. This will cover 1.8 million people, could start in April. pic.twitter.com/9owns0uJkB
— Tom Ross (@Tommy_Slick) February 19, 2021
Finally, it will go out to many more adult Albertans before phase three can come in and go to everyone else.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro says this will cover a lot of venerable people.
“By the end of phase two, we would see over two million Albertans being given the opportunity to have the vaccine, so this is a big deal.”
To this point, all residents at long-term care centres have been fully immunized, totalling almost 30,000 people, and overall there have been over 155,000 vaccinations across the province.
However, phase three is still unclear. Premier Jason Kenney says they may not have prioritizations relating to age or occupation.
“The focus is on the speed of administering the vaccine. Every time we add more categories, subgroups, and sub-categories, what we’re doing is making the process more complicated and slower moving.”
The province will work on rapid vaccination areas to boost the ability to give shots, including mass clinics.