Province to offer third doses
Alberta will be offering third doses of COVID-19 vaccines to seniors in congregate care facilities, the immunocompromised and some travellers as the province recorded more than 3,000 new cases of the virus since Friday.
On Monday, the province announced the third doses as a means to boost immunity levels and improve protection for the most vulnerable while also offering a third dose to those who are travelling to a jurisdiction that does not accept visitors who have been vaccinated with Astrazeneca or mixed doses.
Beginning Wednesday, eligible seniors will be able to receive their third dose at their facility approximately five months after their second dose.
For the immunocompromised, which includes but is not limited to transplant patients, active cancer patients and those with autoimmune diseases, third doses will be available at least eight weeks after their second dose.
For travellers, additional MRNA doses will be made available at least 28 days after their second dose. Proof of travel will not be required to receive a third dose.
The news comes as Alberta reported 1,231 new cases of COVID -19 on Friday, 960 cases on Saturday and 865 cases on Sunday. The test positivity rate was above 10 per cent on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
There are 401 people hospitalized with COVID-19, an increase of 65 since Friday. Of those, 98 are in intensive care units, an increase of 24.
In one week, hospitalizations have nearly doubled. On Aug. 23, there were 244 people in hospital due to the virus, and of those, 54 were in the ICU.
Across the province, there are 11,426 active cases of COVID-19, an increase of 1,771.
Seven more deaths from the coronavirus raised the provincial death toll to 2,371.
In the Edmonton zone, which includes the city of Edmonton and surrounding municipalities, there are 3,571 active cases of COVID -19. Of those, 2,473 are in the city.
Opposition NDP health critic David Shepherd said in a statement the case numbers reported Monday are a “grim milestone” and a level of infection not seen since May.
“But in May, those numbers were falling. Today, they continue to rise,” he said. “As the situation in Alberta grows more serious with every passing day, no one in (Premier) Jason Kenney's UCP government has emerged from hiding to present a response or even acknowledge the situation.”
Kenney has not been seen since Aug. 9, Health Minister Tyler Shandro hasn't been seen since July 28, and Alberta's chief medical officer of health has not had a media availability since Aug. 13.
As a result, a group of concerned Alberta doctors and experts have taken it upon themselves to provide their own update on COVID -19.
Protect Our Province Alberta (POPA) was formed after the province announced the planned end to testing, tracing and isolation
requirements for COVID-19. Now, the group is hoping to also address the growing fourth wave in the province.
“We still have ongoing growth and that won't change until we have strong, basic mitigation measures put in place,” said Dr. Joe Vipond, a Calgary physician and member of POPA, during a livestream
Monday afternoon.
Dr. Neeja Bakshi, an Edmonton internal medicine physician, said the numbers currently being reported aren't surprising, but they are upsetting.
“I think we're going to see probably a far worse wave than we've seen this entire time that we've been dealing with the pandemic,”
she said.
“I think simple mitigation strategies right now are important, like the mask mandate, social distancing, universal masking in schools. I think those are all things that we can do and we should be doing to try to nip this in the bud.”