(Government of Alberta)

By David Opinko

"We are in the home stretch now"

Vaccines proving successful as two-millionth dose in Alberta to be administered: Kenney

May 11, 2021 | 4:17 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – “We are in the home stretch now, more vaccines are arriving every day, and we are getting closer to widespread immunity.”

Premier Jason Kenney spoke with an optimistic tone during Tuesday’s COVID-19 press conference, saying the provincial vaccine rollout has been a tremendous success and that things will only ramp up from here.

As of the end of May 10, AHS reports that 1,947,004 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in the province. Assuming all goes according to plan, the province could be in the position to offer the two-millionth dose before the end of Wednesday.

When vaccine eligibility expanded to everyone at least 12 years old on Monday, over 190,000 Albertans booked their appointments in just one day.

READ MORE: All Albertans aged 12 and up now eligible for COVID-19 vaccine

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It is not just bookings that Kenney says are doing well, as 270,000 doses were administered in the last seven days.

“Today, nearly 45 per cent of Albertans 16 years of age or older are now protected with at least one dose of vaccine. This means that about one in every three Albertans have made the choice to get the vaccine, helping us get closer to widespread immunity.”

Based on current and expected supply, at least half of all Albertans are projected to have at least one dose by the first week of June, rising to two-thirds of the general population by the third week of June.

The Premier states that it was a conscious decision to focus immunizations on the most vulnerable populations first.

While COVID-19 cases have been near record-highs in recent weeks, the number of infections leading to severe outcomes is declining.

At the peak of the second wave in November and December, AHS was reporting as many as 18 deaths related to COVID-19 every day. Over the last couple of weeks, however, the average has been around three to four.

(Government of Alberta)

Kenney continued to tout Alberta’s vaccine success as a greater percentage of Albertans are eligible to receive immunization than many other parts of Canada.

He highlighted five other provinces where the eligibility age is much higher than Alberta, ranging from 29 in Saskatchewan to 40 in B.C. and Ontario.

(Government of Alberta)

In the coming days and weeks, the Alberta Government is set to roll out a new vaccine advertising campaign with messaging such as “get vaccinated so we can all get back to normal.”