All Albertans age 18 and older can immediately book an appointment to receive the COVID-19 booster shot, provided it has been five months since their second dose.
The Alberta government announced the expansion of eligibility for the booster late Tuesday morning.
Until now, only Albertans age 50 and older, as well as healthcare workers and those with specific underlying health conditions, were eligible to book a booster.
Read more:
Alberta is considering opening COVID-19 reinforcements before 6 months: Copping
The province said it is launching the “ambitious booster vaccination campaign” to protect Albertans from the worrisome, rapidly spreading variant of Omicron.
“There is still a lot we don’t know about Omicron,” Prime Minister Jason Kenney said in a press release.
“But one thing we do know is that the most powerful protection against this highly contagious variant is getting a booster shot. I urge all Albertans to step up and protect themselves and the health care system with a booster as soon as they can. “
Read more:
Boosters Not Enough to Curb Omicron Wave, Experts Say: ‘No Time’
Alberta’s chief medical officer for health reiterated that third doses are especially important in protecting against the Omicron variant.
“Vaccines continue to be our best protection against COVID-19 and with the highly transmissible Omicron variant, I encourage all eligible Albertans to reserve their first, second and third doses as soon as they are eligible,” said Dr. Deena Hinshaw .
The province encourages Albertans to take the first available mRNA vaccine for its third dose. Albertans ages 18 to 29 will receive the Pfizer vaccine for their booster as a precaution, the province said.
“While there is a slightly increased risk of myocarditis in the youth of Moderna Alberta (vaccine), especially men, people are much more likely to experience myocarditis from COVID-19 infection than from the vaccine,” it reads. in the province’s press release.
The expanded eligibility comes after Alberta saw a dramatic increase in the number of Omicron cases identified over the weekend.
Read more:
Alberta Sees Rise in COVID-19 Omicron Cases as AHS Prepares Healthcare System for Rise
Alberta released three days of COVID-19 data on Monday, in which the province identified 872 new cases of the worrisome variant of Omicron.
As of Friday afternoon, the province had identified 173 cases of Omicron. As of Monday afternoon, that number had risen to 1,045 cases.
In all, Alberta identified 1,925 new cases of COVID-19 during the previous three days.
The number of active cases increased from 4,431 cases on Friday to 5,652 active cases on Monday. The hospitalization rate was stable over the weekend, with 324 people hospitalized for COVID-19. Of them, 69 people were being treated in intensive care as of Monday afternoon.
Booster dose appointments can be booked with participating pharmacies or Alberta Health Services online or by calling AHS at 811.
See link »
© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Reference-globalnews.ca