Immunocompromised Albertans will soon be eligible to receive their fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
During a live update on Tuesday, Dr. Deena Hinshaw announced the change coming to the province later this week.
WATCH: Dr. Deena Hinshaw provides a live update on COVID-19 in Alberta.
Hinshaw says immunocompromised individuals don’t develop the same immunity after vaccination which is ultimately why the province decided to make fourth doses available.
“Providing a fourth dose to these individuals is equivalent to a third dose for others,” Hinshaw explained. “There are approximately 80,000 immunocompromised Albertans who were eligible to get their third dose in September of 2021.”
She says to be eligible for the fourth dose, you have to wait five months from when you got your third dose, so if someone got their third shot in September, they would now be eligible.
Vaccination appointments for fourth doses will open on Thursday. A list of who is eligible under the province’s criteria can be found here.
Tuesday’s COVID numbers update
Meanwhile, Alberta saw a drop in COVID-19 infections on Tuesday afternoon, but also saw a significant increase in severe outcomes.
There were 3,279 new cases of the virus reported in Alberta on nearly 9,000 tests for a positivity rate of around 38.8 per cent according to Hinshaw.
Active infections dropped for the first time in weeks as there are now just over 70,000 active cases in Alberta — a drop of more than 2,100 cases from Monday.
NEW:
– 3279 new COVID cases in Alberta on 8995 tests (36%)
– 1089 hospitalizations (+82), inc 104 in ICU (+10)
– 9 new reported COVID deaths
– 70223 active cases (-2145)#yeg #Yyc #ableg #covid19ab pic.twitter.com/CDa3TskC7M— Courtney Theriault (@cspotweet) January 18, 2022
There are now 1,089 people in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 82 patients from the day prior. Of those in hospital, 104 are in the ICU.
“Our most recent data from new [hospital] admissions since late last week indicates that 51 per cent of new admissions to non ICU spaces are due to COVID infection, and 49 per cent are cases where the infection was not determined to be a cause of admission or it was not possible to determine,” explained Hinshaw.
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She says for ICU admissions, 74 per cent were due to COVID, while 26 per cent were incidental infections or the case was unclear.
Alberta Health also reported on Tuesday that nine more people have died with the virus over the last day.
