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By Tiffany Goodwein

Hatters getting last minute vaccines

Province to require two doses of vaccine to access restaurants, businesses with Restrictions Exemption Program

Oct 23, 2021 | 5:30 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB- Starting Monday, Oct. 25, Albertans will need to show proof of full vaccination in order to access restaurants, events and other businesses taking part in the Restrictions Exemption Program.

The Restrictions Exemption Program was announced in September and gives eligible businesses the ability to operate without capacity or operating restrictions, with the exception of mandatory indoor masking.

A negative COVID-19 test that is privately paid, and taken within the past 72 hours, is also acceptable, as is a valid medical exemption.

Across the city, Hatters have been getting their last-minute jabs at the mobile vaccination clinic and at local pharmacies, like Southview Pharmacy where no appointment is needed.

” The demand has started to peak up and we have been doing a lot of them, and now we are so busy with the vaccine, but luckily we have enough stock,” pharmacy owner Ahmed Saleem said.

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The reason people are choosing to get vaccinated varies, according to Saleem, from work requirements, the desire to travel, to greater accessibility at businesses like restaurants. Keeping themselves safe is also a top reason.

In Medicine Hat, 64.9 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated. In Cypress County, that number is 55 per cent, much lower than the provincial average of 78. 3 per cent.

23-year-old Joshua Meguamua was at Southview Pharmacy on Saturday getting vaccinated. Meguamua wants to travel back home to the Philippines soon and his reasons for putting it off predominantly had to do with finding enough time.

” I work two jobs and, and I have work at home too, so that made it hard to take the vaccine,” he said.

Meguamua also had concerns about side effects and was also skeptical about the effectiveness of the vaccine because it was so new.

Saleem said concerns like Meguamua’s are common among people that come in, which is why his pharmacy takes the time to listen, and educate the best they can.

The province said that getting fully vaccinated with either Pfizer or Moderna offers 90- to 91 per cent protection from COVID-19.

But convincing the vaccine-hesitant can be difficult, according to Saleem.

” We have changed our strategy at little because now we are dealing with people who are refusing to get the vaccine, so the way to educate them is different because some of them are still against it. So it is very simple. We let them talk first, and we will just intervene in the middle are trying to focus on things that are missing. Try to focus on the reason why they are refusing to get the vaccine and try to correct that,” he said noting their next step is to get people comfortable with taking the vaccine.

When the new regulations take effect, Albertans 18 years and over will be required to show valid identification along with their proof of vaccination.

The province said First Nation, out-of-province, and Canadian Armed Forces vaccine records are acceptable proofs of vaccination, as is the ArriveCan app.