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UNA urges AHS to provide transparency in vaccine rollout

Jan 16, 2021 | 11:34 AM

United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) President Heather Smith is urging Alberta Health Services (AHS) President and CEO Dr. Verna Yiu to provide immediate transparency on their vaccine rollout plan for health care workers.

“There is no compelling reason for AHS not to share this information with health care workers in an open and transparent way, so that our members and other front-line workers understand where they fall on the priority list,” Smith said in a letter to Dr. Yiu on Friday.

“Clear communication will bring certainty into these workers’ lives and calm some of their legitimate fears for themselves and their families.”

Smith says the uncertainty and anxiety felt by UNA members and other health care workers continues to grow without clear information on the order in which front-line workers will receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

“Many groups of essential workers are becoming increasingly frustrated and concerned as their efforts to determine when they will receive vaccinations go without any meaningful response,” wrote Smith. “I am writing you today to urge Alberta Health Services to immediately provide transparency on its vaccine rollout plans for health care workers, which must by now be at a fairly advanced stage.”

Smith concluded, “Albertans, and in particular the health care workers who are literally risking their lives to bring quality care to their fellow citizens in this difficult health care crisis, deserve such transparency. I strongly urge you to provide a clear schedule of the vaccine rollout as it impacts health care workers immediately.”

More information on Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccination plans can be found here.