Province sees massive demand for the Astrazeneca vaccine
Tens of thousands of Albertans booked time slots for the COVID-19 Astrazeneca vaccine and hundreds of others waited in line for walk-in appointments Tuesday, the first day the age eligibility dropped to 40.
As of 8 a.m., people born in 1981 or earlier could schedule a vaccine online through Alberta Health Services or by calling Healthlink at 811. Doses were previously only available to those aged 55 and older.
About 9,000 people were in the queue to book online when the tool went live, said AHS spokesman Kerry Williamson in an email. However, the average wait Tuesday morning was only about 10 minutes, he said, and there were no reported issues with the digital booking system after AHS experienced delays and backlogs during previous stages of the vaccine rollout.
A total of 27,000 people had registered online or over the phone by 10:30 a.m. and more than 36,000 appointments were made by 5 p.m., said AHS. A total of 8,496 appointments were made in the Edmonton Zone and 20,627 were in the Calgary Zone.
“This is a higher uptake in one morning, than over the entirety of last week, when eligibility was limited to Albertans aged 55 and over,” said Williamson. “For context, 4,525 people received the Astrazeneca vaccine in Edmonton, and 5,559 people received Astrazeneca in Calgary, between April 12 and April 18.”
Until now, Alberta has seen low turnout for the Astrazeneca vaccine amid concerns over potential blood clots. One blood clot has been confirmed in the province out of about 100,000 vaccinations, which is in line with the risk stated by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).
Health officials have urged Albertans to receive the first vaccine made available to them, saying the Astrazeneca dose is safe despite the small chance of developing blood clots and reiterating that the risk of contracting COVID-19 is much greater.
Speaking at an afternoon news conference, Premier Jason Kenney said the province had administered around 107,000 doses of Astrazeneca as of Monday evening. He said around 67,900 appointments have been booked for the next 10 days.
“As these numbers indicate, Alberta's administration of Astrazeneca is heading in the right direction. The response of my fellow Genxers has been amazing and I know that bookings will only gain speed in the coming days,” said Kenney.
Kenney said the province has around 160,000 doses remaining and the province does not know when they will receive the next shipment.
Walk-in vaccinations, as well as booked appointments, were available at the AHS clinics at Edmonton's Expo Centre and at Calgary's Telus Convention Centre.
Tuesday appointments at both locations were filled by midday. Williamson said limited walk-in spots were still available at the time, however he strongly urged people to make appointments ahead of time.
Christine Oleksiw, 47, walked out of the Expo Centre just before 1:30 p.m. after receiving her shot of Astrazeneca. She said she showed up as a walk-in around 11:30 a.m. She tried booking an appointment, but couldn't get one until next Thursday.
“I was just, like, overjoyed and just, yeah, very emotional. Very excited to get it done,” said Oleksiw.
She said she debated waiting to get a shot of Pfizer or Moderna but opted to get Astrazeneca because she doesn't know how long she would be waiting to be eligible for the other vaccines.
As Oleksiw was leaving the Expo Centre, there were close to 100 people, some who brought books and magazines, in line outside the building. A staff member was heard saying it would be about a two-hour wait and the line could be seen snaking back and forth inside the centre.
Eligible Albertans are also able to book appointments through local pharmacies. The Alberta Blue Cross website shows more than 300 locations in Edmonton offering at least one of the three vaccines available in the province, with more than 180 offering Astrazeneca. Some are accepting walkin appointments.
The province has administered more than 1,196,000 doses of all three vaccines.