EDMONTON, AB. – Alberta seniors 75 and older have been signing up in droves to get their coronavirus shots.
The province says as of late Thursday over 100,000 vaccination appointments had been scheduled.
Health Minister Tyler Shandro issued the following statement:
“As of Feb. 25, 100,000 Alberta seniors over the age of 75 are now booked to receive their COVID-19 vaccination. An additional 22,000 seniors who reside in congregate care are also booked, with thousands more booked for appointments at pharmacies.
“Combined with the 28,000 seniors in long-term care already vaccinated, well over half of Alberta’s 75-plus population is already vaccinated or booked to receive the vaccine.
“This is a significant milestone for our province and it deserves to be celebrated. Many other provinces remain days or even weeks away from even getting started.
“This milestone, however, doesn’t mean we can let our guard down. Yesterday, despite reassurances that the online vaccine booking tool was capable of handling a large volume of bookings, Alberta Health Services fell short of Albertans’ collective expectations.
“The online booking tool is now capable of handling more than 5,000 bookings per hour and the long wait times have subsided. I have further directed Alberta Health Services to add more servers, hire more staff, and add more phone lines over and above what may be needed for future phases of the vaccine deployment.”