May 11, 2021

By Regan Tate

Premier Jason Kenney urging Albertans to get vaccinated

May 11, 2021 | 4:30 PM

Medicine Hat, AB–Premier Jason Kenney says vaccines are our ticket out of this pandemic.

Speaking to Albertans Tuesday afternoon, Kenney urged Albertans to book their vaccine appointment as soon as possible. “We are in the home stretch now, more vaccines are arriving everyday and we are getting closer to widespread immunity.”

Kenney expected that by Wednesday, Alberta will have administered it’s 2 millionth dose of vaccine. He says the province is on track to have 50 percent of eligible Albertans vaccinated with their first dose by the middle of June.

Alberta is the first province in Canada to offer the vaccine to those 12 and older. On Monday, 190 thousand vaccine appointments were booked through AHS and pharmacies. “I’m sure that thousands of parents and guardians across the province felt a burden lifted from their shoulders as they booked their kids appointments,” Kenney stated.

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Chief Medical Health Officer Doctor Deena Hinshaw says based on global supply challenges remaining doses of the astrazenca vaccine are being held back for second doses which will begin being administered in June.

About 250 thousand Albertans have received their first dose of the Astrazenca vaccine but so far no decision has been made on whether some of these residents will be given a different vaccine for their second dose. “We are reviewing all available evidence and are awaiting the results of clinical trials in the U-K,” Hinshaw said.

There are 216 active cases of COVID-19 in Medicine Hat as of Tuesday.

The city now has had 1,066 total cases – the 216 active, 832 recovered and there have been 18 deaths.

Across the province, there are 24, 998 active cases, down 440 from Monday and 184,7192 recovered cases, up 1,887.

Alberta’s total number of COVID-19 cases from the start of the pandemic is 211, 830

There are 1,449 new cases in the province today.

There are now 705 Albertans in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 15 from Monday. 163 are in the ICU and there have been 3 deaths bringing the total number of lives lost to 2,119.

The provincial positivity rate is 12.7 per cent.

In Brooks, 1,441 total cases, 41 active, 1,388 recovered and 14 deaths.

In Cypress County, 244 total cases, 20 active, 224 recovered.

The County of Newell, 194 total cases, 15 active, 177 recovered and 2 deaths.

The County of Forty Mile, 153 cases, 9 active, 141 recovered and 3 deaths.

Over 1.9 million doses of the vaccine has been administered to date and 7 percent of Alberta’s population is fully vaccinated.

The full briefing from the Premier and Chief Medical Health Officer is available here: