(Canadian Press)

By Troy Gillard

16,900 doses arrive in province

Red Deer among first Alberta communities to receive Moderna vaccine

Dec 29, 2020 | 4:28 PM

Premier Jason Kenney announced Tuesday that Alberta has received 16,900 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine and Red Deer will be one of the first communities to get it.

Kenney said shipments of the vaccine will be delivered to Red Deer, Calgary, St. Paul, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie and Edmonton and will be offered to residents in continuing care facilities in those communities.

The Moderna vaccine will be delivered directly to these facilities as it can be more readily transported than the Pfizer vaccine that must be stored at extremely low temperatures.

Moderna doses will be offered to residents at six First Nation congregate living facilities on-reserve. The Provincial Vaccine Depot will also receive vaccine for further distribution to rural and remote communities.

Immunization of residents in continuing care facilities will start tomorrow (Dec. 30).

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“This is exciting news for staff, residents and families of these facilities, who have been on the frontlines of our battle against COVID-19 since the spring and who’ve experienced untold pain and loss,” said Kenney.

The premier said he hopes the arrival of more vaccine doses will be a turning point for the province, but cautioned that while it’s encouraging “it’s not the end of our hard work.”

Kenney said Albertans must continue to follow the health guidelines and do every possible to keep each other safe while awaiting broader immunization.

Following immunization of residents at long-term care and designated supportive living facilities, seniors aged 75 and older and First Nation on-reserve, Inuit and on-settlement Metis individuals 65 and older. Kenney anticipates that will begin in February.

Immunization of respiratory therapists, intensive care physicians and staff and long-term care and designated supportive living facility workers across the province will continue, he said.

Kenney said that by the end of Tuesday, Alberta Health Services will have administered more than 7,000 doses of vaccines to frontline health-care workers. He confirmed the province will not meet its goal of delivering 29,000 vaccinations by the end of the month.

Kenney said Alberta Health Services was holding back half of its vaccine shipments to ensure those who received a first dose would get a required second shot. He said his COVID-19 cabinet committee has now directed AHS to follow what some other provinces are doing and administer all doses as soon as possible.

“Today, the Premier tried to blame his failure to meet vaccination targets on Alberta Health Services, claiming it was officials there who made the decision to withhold half of the vaccination supply to administer a second dose; however, on Dec. 14, Health Minister Tyler Shandro insisted no doses would be withheld,” suggested NDP Health Critic David Shepherd.

“It’s clear this Government is unable to manage this pandemic response and they will try to blame everyone but themselves. They’ve lost the trust of Albertans at the worst possible time — and at a time when the vast majority of Albertans are doing their part to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Phase 2 of vaccinations is still expected to start by April 2021. Final decisions regarding the sequencing of populations to receive the vaccine in this phase have not yet been determined.

Phase 3 will involve rolling out vaccinations to the general Alberta population, and is anticipated to start later in 2021.