Alberta pauses appointments for first dose of vaccine

Alberta is pausing appointments for people to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Premier Jason Kenney said Monday.

He said the province would run out of supply for first doses by the end of the day or early Tuesday.

“We’ll get more vaccine in the coming weeks and some more doses this week, but we need to make adjustments today to accommodate this lack of supply,” Kenney said.

“Even with a new shipment of Pfizer expected later this week, we won’t have enough supply to continue with new firstdose appointments.”

Pfizer-BioNTech indicated last week that it’s cutting back on promised deliveries of its vaccine over the next four weeks as it works to expand production.

Kenney said no new appointments for first doses are being accepted and some appointments already booked will be rescheduled.

He said second doses have been saved for those who have appointments for those shots.

“We believe that we can administer second doses to all those who need them within the recommended time frame.”

He said vaccines so far have been given to about 90,000 health-care workers as well as to staff and residents in continuing-care homes in Alberta.

“Yesterday, we completed the first dose of vaccination at all of Alberta’s 357 long-term care and designated supported-living facilities,” Kenney said.

“This is a tremendous milestone and I believe makes Alberta the first province in the country to complete the first-dose vaccine rollout for this important and highly vulnerable population.”

Restrictions lift some

Albertans will be able to visit hair salons and tattoo parlours today as the province relaxes a few of its COVID-19 restrictions.

Starting today, personal and wellness services, including hair salons and tattoo parlours, can open by appointment only.

Outdoor social gatherings, which were previously banned, will be allowed in groups of up to 10 people.

And the limit on the number of people who can attend funerals is increasing to 20, although receptions are still prohibited.

Health Minister Tyler Shandro said last week that Alberta can’t entirely ease up, but that it can make small adjustments to provide Albertans with some limited activities.

Alberta’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, said that easing rules now will act as a test case, and that COVID-19 case numbers will have to be lower before any other restrictions are loosened.

Since early December when COVID-19 infections spiked to well over 1,000 a day, outdoor gatherings were banned and restaurants and bars were limited to delivery and takeout. Casinos, gyms, recreation centres, libraries and theatres were closed. Retail stores and churches were allowed to open but at 15 per cent capacity.

Alberta reported 750 new cases Sunday and 19 more deaths, with 474 new cases and 11 deaths added Monday.

Hinshaw said officials looked at the province’s COVID-19 data along with research from other parts of the world, and she said funerals, outdoor gatherings and personal service businesses show a lower level of risk for transmission.

Shandro said last week that hospitalizations and case numbers remain high and pose a threat to the province’s health system capacity.