SENIORS BOOK SHOTS
Vaccine rollout gains steam
While some mayhem persisted for Alberta seniors booking COVID -19 vaccination shots Thursday, many of those eligible managed to grab an appointment into the second day of trying.
By 2 p.m. Thursday, more than 100,000 of the 230,000 eligible seniors aged 75 or older living in the community had booked appointments for both doses, though many won't get their second shots until well into April.
And 2,000 of those had already received their first dose on Wednesday, just hours after bookings opened with considerable disarray on the Alberta Health Services online site and Alberta Health Link phone line.
Despite the problems, AHS said 55,000 bookings were secured Wednesday.
Tempers flared at Brentwood Mall as some arriving for their vaccination questioned why young people — some of whom are healthcare workers or are employed at seniors' residences — were ahead of them.
The AHS noted lineups at inoculation sites is sparking impatience and called for calm.
“Please respect each other's designated appointment time and help ensure everyone continues to follow Alberta's public health guidance,” they said in a statement.
“We also ask that only those receiving their vaccination enter the immunization clinic unless you require assistance.”
Calgary senior Hugh Gaudet said his wife managed to secure a booking Wednesday night but, after struggling all day, was unable to get one for himself.
“It was real chaos — we made 102 calls on two phones and I tried to go on the internet and it crashed,” said Gaudet, 84. Finally, on Thursday morning, Gaudet said he was able to arrange his appointments for both doses — the second shot not until April 13, his wife Pat on April 18. Their first doses are scheduled for mid-march.
AHS continues to urge patience as a backlog of booking attempts remained.
“We continue to anticipate a wait time to get through to the online booking tool or Health Link in the coming days. Please be patient if you are waiting to book a vaccine appointment,” stated an AHS tweet at midday Thursday.
In a statement Thursday, Health Minister Tyler Shandro called the progress on seniors' vaccination “a significant milestone” but one that needs to be bolstered.
“The online booking tool is now capable of handling more than 5,000 bookings per hour and the long wait times have subsided,” he said.
“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.”
A call to Health Link at about 3:30 p.m. Thursday led to a recorded message instructing the caller to try again in an hour due to extremely high volumes “and extended wait times.”
Seniors in long-term care or assisted-living facilities are receiving the vaccine separately, where they reside.
On Wednesday, Shandro expressed disappointment with glitches in the appointment system, but said more resources were being provided for Health Link and the AHS online portal to reduce the gridlock.
The Opposition NDP has accused the UCP government of being caught off guard by the onslaught despite having months of advance preparation time.
Shandro on Wednesday also announced more than 100 pharmacies throughout the province would begin providing vaccines in Edmonton, Calgary and Red Deer in early March, which are expected to distribute 20,000 shots a week.
More locations will be added as the vaccine supply improves, he said. Much of the distribution timeline, he said, remains dependent on the pace of vaccine supply from the federal government, which is expected to provide at least 50,000 doses a week to Alberta.
Pharmacist Brian Jones said he's already received a few hundred bookings at his Shoppers Drug Mart at 2250 162nd Ave. S.W.
The store will be adding extra staff shifts to handle the increased inoculation traffic that he expects to commence March 6.
The temperature-sensitive Pfizer-biontech doses will have to be used up within five days of their arrival, but Jones said he and his staff are prepared for that challenge and don't require special refrigeration.
“We know the rules, we know how to handle it — we're used to protocols and procedures,” he said.
Those born in 1946 and before can book at Health Link by calling 811 or at the AHS portal at ahs.ca/ covidvaccine.
They can also book at a local pharmacy at ab.bluecross.ca
Meanwhile, COVID -19 hospitalizations took a larger-than-usual drop over the past day, going from 307 to 280, though the number of ICU patients remained the same at 56. Another eight people have died from the virus, bringing the full toll since last March to 1,874. One of those fatalities was a man in his 40s in an undisclosed part of the province.
Also in the past day, another 399 infections were discovered, with a test positivity rate of 4.3 per cent — a number that's plateaued in the past week.