COVID-19 vaccine. (Photonews via Getty Images)

By David Opinko

Alberta healthcare workers to receive first COVID vaccine doses next week

Dec 9, 2020 | 3:57 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – “Alberta is ready to deliver this vaccine.”

Health Minister Tyler Shandro said, following Health Canada’s approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first doses will be delivered in the province.

READ MORE: Health Canada approves Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine

To begin, 3,900 doses will be administered starting on Wednesday, December 16 to healthcare workers in ICU, long-term care centres, and for respiratory therapists. The vaccines will be received and utilized at selected sites in Calgary and Edmonton.

To be effective, patients will need to get two doses one month apart.

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Shandro says the rest of the province can expect to be immunized in the coming months.

Alberta Health Services also released Wednesday’s report on COVID-19, covering the statistics from the past 24 hours.

1,460 cases were confirmed across the province, bringing the total to 73,488. Of those, 20,199 cases are active while 52,636 people have recovered.

Approximately 86 per cent of the new cases came from the Edmonton and Calgary Zones who saw 706 and 548 positive tests respectively.

Meanwhile, in the South Zone, 32 people contracted the virus including 12 in Lethbridge.

Since yesterday’s update, another 13 Albertans have died from COVID including six in the Edmonton Zone, four in the Calgary Zone, and three in the Central Zone.

Provincially, 685 patients are currently hospitalized and 121 have been admitted to intensive care.

With 16,792 tests completed in the last 24 hours, there have now been a total of 2,427,514 tests done among 1,541,334 different people.

The regional breakdown for COVID-19 in Alberta is as follows:

• Edmonton zone – 30,607 cases, 9,289 active
  • 310 deaths (six new)
  • 375 in hospital, 71 in ICU
• Calgary zone – 29,494 cases, 7,490 active
  • 219 deaths (four new)
  • 202 in hospital, 36 in ICU
• North zone – 4,864 cases, 1,213 active
  • 51 deaths
  • 33 in hospital, five in ICU
• South zone – 4,339 cases, 633 active
  • 50 deaths
  • 19 in hospital, three in ICU
• Central zone – 3,980 cases, 1,500 active
  • 23 deaths (three new)
  • 56 in hospital, six in ICU

The breakdown for the South Health Zone by community is as follows:

• Brooks – 1,300 cases (four new), 27 active, 14 deaths
• Lethbridge – 1,187 cases (12 new), 247 active, seven deaths
  • West Lethbridge – 455 cases (six new), 85 active, two deaths
  • South Lethbridge – 373 cases (five new), 61 active, three deaths
  • North Lethbridge – 359 cases (one new), 101 active, two deaths
• Lethbridge County – 374 cases (three new), 65 active, three deaths
• Medicine Hat – 341 cases (seven new), 91 active, five deaths
• M.D. of Taber – 283 cases (one new), 57 active, four deaths
• Cardston County – 201 cases (one new), 37 active, six deaths
• County of Warner – 137 cases, 27 active, two deaths
• Cypress County – 127 cases, 11 active, zero deaths
• County of Newell – 120 cases (three new), 21 active, two deaths
• County of Forty Mile – 112 cases. 12 active, two deaths
• M.D. of Pincher Creek – 63 cases (one new), 27 active, two deaths
• Fort Macleod – 52 cases, five active, three deaths
• Crowsnest Pass – Nine cases (one new), two active, zero deaths