Albertans deemed to be at high risk from COVID-19 are now eligible to be immunized, with the first phase of the government’s controversial new vaccine rollout going into effect on Wednesday.
As of Oct. 1, free COVID-19 and flu shots can be accessed by vulnerable populations including seniors living in long-term care, people aged 65 and over, health-care workers and people with underlying medical conditions.
But booking an appointment has proven to be tricky for some individuals.
Nicole Perry is a health-care worker who spent days trying to navigate the new system to pre-order a vaccine and book an appointment. After struggling with the online booking system, she tried to get help from the 811 health line.
“But every time I called that day and yesterday, I just got a message saying, ‘We’re extremely busy right now,’ you know, high call volumes and then goodbye and they hung up,” she said.
The government’s controversial plan, announced earlier this year, intends to charge the vast majority of Albertans $100 for the newly formulated COVID-19 shot this fall. It cited vaccine waste and high costs as reasons for the change.
For Albertans eligible to receive a free vaccine, immunization appointments begin on Wednesday. Albertans who must pay for doses will have to wait until Oct. 20 for vaccine appointments.
Perry said she has a young daughter, who won’t qualify for an appointment until later this month.
“I don’t know why they switched the system. I don’t know why you have to call in for kids. I don’t know why you’re supposed to pre-order. It seems like there’s just barrier after barrier and not a lot of communication about that,” she said.
“Some of the [patients] that I’ve talked to so far have just said they didn’t even know that the booking sites were open yet.”
The province initially said vaccines would only be provided through public health clinics; however Alberta Health Services says on its website that the shots may be available at pharmacies at a cost.
Mohamed Elfishawi, who runs two pharmacies in Edmonton, said pharmacies must order vaccines directly from suppliers, which drives up the cost.
Mohamed Elfishawi owns two pharmacies in Edmonton. (David Bajer/CBC)
He said at his clinics, the vaccine would cost people around $20 more than the $100 that public health clinics would charge.
“How am I supposed to offset this price? I am hearing from a couple of our friends that they’re not going to be giving any vaccines. It’s not fair to charge the customers more than the public health units,” he said.
Elfishawi is concerned that not offering the shots could make access more difficult for some patients, who aren’t used to booking appointments online or over the phone.
He would like to see the government roll back the new program, noting that most suppliers have improved vaccine packaging by shipping them out in single-dose vials.
Dawn Bowdish, an immunologist and a professor of medicine at McMaster University, also said she has concerns about what Alberta’s revamped vaccination program will mean for people who rely on immunization, as well as for the health-care system at large.
“I have spoken to so many vulnerable people … who say things like, ‘If it was important, the government would pay for it.’ And so when you have to pay for it, you end up setting up the system where people think that’s not maybe important for them,” she said.
“It also sets up a situation where we have those who can afford and those who cannot — and unfortunately, all serious infections tend to have a bigger impact for people who can least afford to pay.”
The new policy makes Alberta the only Canadian province that does not free universal access to COVID-19 shots.