Vaccine Shot -- Image from Canadian Press

By Connor Gunn (Lethbridge News Now)

almost a million more people eligible

Alberta moving to Phase 2B of vaccination strategy Tuesday

Mar 29, 2021 | 11:56 AM

EDMONTON, AB– With the opening of Phase 2B of Alberta’s vaccine rollout plan, more than 945,000 Albertans with underlying health conditions will now be eligible to book their COVID-19 vaccination.

Starting Tuesday, March 30, Albertans born in or before 1963 with eligible underlying conditions will be able to book appointments through participating pharmacies that have vaccine supply in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer.

Other pharmacies will begin to offer bookings as more vaccines will be distributed in the following weeks.

Starting April 5, AHS will start to book people eligible in Phase 2B born in or before 1959.

Requirements for those with underlying health conditions born in 2005 or earlier (ages 16 and up) is as follows:

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• A missing spleen or a spleen that is no longer working
• Cancer
• Chronic heart disease and vascular disease
• Chronic kidney diseases requiring regular medical monitoring or treatment
• Chronic liver disease due to any cause
• Chronic neurological disease
• Chronic respiratory (lung) diseases
• Diabetes requiring insulin or other anti-diabetic medication to control
• A weakened immune response due to disease or treatment
• Anyone who is currently pregnant
• Severe mental illness or substance use disorder requiring a hospital stay during the past year
• Severe obesity
• Severe or profound learning disabilities or severe developmental delay
• Solid-organ, bone marrow, or stem cell transplant recipients

More information on each underlying health condition is available at alberta.ca.

“This is great news for vulnerable Albertans and another big step forward in our vaccine rollout,” says Health Minister Tyler Shandro. “Anyone with these serious health conditions will now be eligible for vaccines that give effective protection from COVID-19. We’re ramping up our vaccinations as fast as the incoming vaccine supply allows. Every adult in Alberta will be offered a first dose by the end of June.”

AHS explained that a doctor’s note or other proof of your condition is not required to get the vaccine in Phase 2B.

To book your vaccination appointment, AHS provided the following information:

“To reduce delays and help appointments be booked quickly, Phase 2B will follow a staggered approach.

On March 30, Albertans born from 1957 to 1963 with underlying health conditions can book an appointment at participating pharmacies in Calgary, Edmonton, and Red Deer.

To find the closest location to you with the earliest available booking date, check the list on Alberta Blue Cross.

Additional pharmacies will offer bookings starting the week of April 5 as more doses arrive. Please be patient; all eligible Albertans in Phase 2B will be able to book appointments in the coming weeks.

Please do not call pharmacies that are not on the Alberta Blue Cross list, as they will not have appointments available; and please do not call pharmacies if you are not yet eligible to book.

Starting April 5, all eligible Albertans born in 1957, 1958, and 1959 will also be able to book appointments with AHS online or through 811.”

AHS also says people who are physically unable to leave their homes will be accommodated in Phase 2B.

As of Sunday, 594,723 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered to Albertans, while 96,447 people have been fully vaccinated.