LAKELAND - As the government encourages more first doses among unvaccinated individuals to pass the provincially mandated threshold of a 70 per cent vaccination rate among the eligible population, snowbirds and individuals who receive their jabs out of province could make the difference of how soon Alberta can reopen under stage three of the “Open for Summer Plan.”
The province is now sitting at 69 per cent of individuals who have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, as of the June 14 update.
During a media conference last Friday, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said an estimated 30,000 Albertans who have been vaccinated outside the province had not been counted in the provincial total.
Many of these unregistered vaccines have been administered through partnerships and vaccine rollouts in the United States that allowed Canadian seniors and essential workers being vaccinated south of the border.
In order for the province to reach stage three, 70 per cent of eligible Albertans need to receive their vaccine. This target could be met much faster once all partially and fully vaccinated individuals are included the province's system.
This process is already underway now that AHS is accepting immunization records that have been dropped off in-person at their healthcare facilities and will be even easier in a couple of weeks once Albertans can access an online form through AHS to fill out and submit those documents to AHS, Kenney says.
According to the Premier, the province has been administering on average 50,000 vaccines daily and expects all bans on outdoor and indoor gatherings to be lifted by the end of June.
“If we're able to get something like 30,000 snowbirds registered in the system, it'll be a big step forward towards meeting our targets," said Kenney, June 11.
