Dr. Hinshaw and Premier Kenney talk booster shots as cases continue drop

“We continue to act on the latest evidence to inform our decisions on our vaccination program to ensure Albertans have the best vaccine protection available to them. Booster shots can add important additional protection from COVID-19, especially for the vulnerable,” said Kenney.

“If, and when, we receive scientific advice to further expand availability of booster shots, we will act without delay.”

Added Dr. Hinshaw: “There is growing evidence that protection against COVID-19 may decrease over time in certain populations, including those who had shorter intervals between two doses. Additional doses will boost protection levels for these individuals and help prevent transmission of the virus. Currently, the evidence is not conclusive on the need for additional doses for the general population, but we are continuing to monitor the research.”

To date, 271,185 Albertans have received a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Shots can be booked at Alberta.ca.

NDP Health Critic David Shepherd issued the following statement in response to Premier Kenney’s COVID-19 update:

“The Premier’s message today regarding natural immunity is simply irresponsible. By leaving the door open to incorporating prior infection into the Restrictions Exemption Program, the Premier is telling Albertans that one of the best ways to protect yourself from COVID is to get COVID. This message is not only outrageously incorrect, it contributes to vaccine hesitancy by encouraging Albertans who are on the fence to wait even longer, or risk getting the virus.

“Today, there are still areas in this province with dangerously low vaccination rates. Now is not the time to place more emphasis on the merits of natural immunity. Now is the time to increase confidence in the safety and effectiveness of the life-saving vaccines.

“I find it odd that the Premier claims we cannot call on senior health leaders to discuss his government’s pandemic response, yet he is willing to marshal AHS resources toward chasing ways to create a loophole in Alberta’s most effective vaccination program to date.

“It saddens me that after four waves and more than 3,000 deaths, Jason Kenney still refuses to put the health and safety Albertans ahead of the misguided beliefs of his extreme, anti-science caucus. Albertans can only shake their heads in disbelief.”

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Meantime, Alberta is reporting 487 new cases of COVID-19 today.

Combined with recoveries, that means there are now 6,693 active cases, down 218.

The province did 10,348 tests in the last day, with a seven-day positivity rate of 5.13 per cent.

There have been 3,133 COVID-linked deaths since the pandemic began, including 14 in the last day.

There are active alerts or outbreaks at 184 schools across the province, which is a decline. Four schools have 10 or more cases

Hospitalizations

There are 697 people in hospital, up six in one day, while ICU admissions are down four to 155, and also down 29 in the last week.

Of the 542 not in ICU, 357 are unvaccinated, 38 have had one dose, and 147 have had two doses.

Of the 155 in ICU, 129 are unvaccinated, eight have had one dose, and 18 have had two doses.

R values

New R value numbers were released Wednesday.

An R value above 1.0 means transmission rate is increasing, while a value of 1.0 means an infected person will infect one other person. Below 1.0 means transmission rate is decreasing.

For the period of Oct. 25-31, R-values were as follows:

Alberta province-wide: 0.87
Edmonton Zone: 0.90
Calgary Zone: 0.91
Rest of Alberta: 0.84

For the period of Oct. 11-17, province-wide, the R value was 0.85. In Edmonton Zone, it was also 0.85, Calgary Zone’s was 0.80, and the rest of Alberta was 0.84.

For the period of Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, Alberta’s average R value was 0.92. In Edmonton Zone, the rate was 0.86, Calgary Zone was 0.93, and the rest of Alberta was 0.94.

For the period of Sept. 13-19, Alberta’s value was 1.04, Edmonton was at 0.97, Calgary at 0.94, and the rest of Alberta at 1.15.

For the period of Aug. 16-22, Alberta’s value was 1.19, Edmonton was 1.32, Calgary was 1.05, and the rest of the province was at 1.22.

R value numbers are updated by Alberta Health every two weeks.

CENTRAL ZONE

Red Deer now has 239 active cases of COVID-19, down 29 from Tuesday.

Meantime, recoveries in Red Deer rose 35 to 8,779 as the total number of COVID-19 cases attributed to Red Deer rose by six in the last day to 9,094.

Red Deer’s death toll stemming from COVID-19 is 76, with the last one reported Oct. 28.

The Central Zone as a whole has 1,186 active cases as of Wednesday, down 88 in the last day. That’s compared to 1,815 in Calgary Zone and 1,529 in Edmonton Zone. South Zone has 710 and North Zone has 1,452.

There are 141 hospitalizations in our zone, up one, and 16 people are receiving intensive care at Red Deer Regional Hospital, down one.

Central Zone has recorded 367 deaths, including three in the last day.

Active cases across Central Zone (one-day change)

Red Deer County: 71 (-11)

Sylvan Lake: 22 (-4)

Lacombe County: 73 (-3)

Lacombe: 70 (-6)

Ponoka County: 110 (-10)

Brazeau County: 49 (+3)

Clearwater County: 74 (-5)

Mountain View County: 45 (-3)

Olds: 16 (-2)

Kneehill County: 39 (+1)

County of Stettler: 33 (+1)

For more data from central Alberta communities, click here.

VACCINATIONS

Alberta has delivered 6,583,429 vaccine doses as of Nov. 2. Yesterday, vaccinations numbers were not available.

87.2 per cent of Alberta’s eligible 12+ population has received at least one dose (74.2% total population), and 80.6 per cent of those eligible are fully vaccinated (68.5% total population).

In Red Deer, 72,808 (79.4% of eligible & 68.4% *total population) people have received at least one dose. Meanwhile, 67,465 (73.6%/63.4%) are fully vaccinated with two doses. (*Government of Alberta uses a population of 106,395 for Red Deer; of those 91,672 are eligible)

(with files from CHAT News Today)

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Dr. Hinshaw and Premier Kenney talk booster shots as cases continue drop

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