CALGARY (660 NEWS) – A group of health care workers in Alberta is pressing the provincial government to be next in line for the COVID-19 vaccine.
The group AB Docs 4 Patients has written a letter to the premier and health minister calling for family doctors and clinic staff to be a priority for inoculation, arguing they are as much on the front lines as other health care providers.
“Community care physicians continue to see high clinic volumes whether in-person or over the phone,” the letter reads. “We see 20-30 patients face to face a day many of whom are vulnerable. We do face to face because that is what community family physicians do. We look touch and feel to properly diagnose and keep people out of emergency.”
The letter goes on to state that these doctors and staff deal with sick people in close contact every day and that by getting the vaccine sooner rather than later, it could protect more Albertans in the future.
Dr. Mukarram Zaidi is a family doctor who said it doesn’t make sense for any one group of medical professionals to get the shots first over the other.
“Leaving the health care workers outside the hospital and not vaccinating them is not the smartest move because we are directly exposed to patients on a daily basis.”
The group said this request is not being made selfishly but rather is the smartest move to keep everyone safe.
“Vaccinating community care doctors will lead to these physicians carrying less viral loads to their patients in the event that they themselves get exposed to COVID-19 without knowing,” the letter states. “This further limits community spread. Vaccination would also help decrease the symptom-burden for community care doctors who do contract the virus so they can get back to work more quickly as stewards of the community. ”
Zaidi added another issue family doctors see is that patients are not always forthcoming.
“The other day I was seeing a child who the parents called and said had abdominal pain. When I went into the room and I asked the young girl, ‘Where is your pain?’, she said, ‘I don’t have pain, I have a cough.'”
Currently, the provincial government is vaccinating all Albertans over the age of 75 as part of its vaccine rollout plan.
We will hear more about who will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine during this update. The NACI updated its recommendations this week saying these shots should not be used in people aged 65 and over. Alberta has said they will follow these guidelines. pic.twitter.com/ZEI4JcXyMB
— Jeff Slack (@Jeffslack660) March 3, 2021
Health Minister Tyler Shandro will join Dr. Deena Hinshaw to talk more about who will receive the newly-approved AstraZeneca vaccine in Alberta at 3:30 Wednesday afternoon.
