Alberta government faces mounting pushback to new COVID-19 vaccine policy | CBC News

The Alberta government is facing fierce and mounting opposition to plans that will reduce access to publicly funded COVID-19 vaccines in the province

The province announced late on Friday that it will limit funding of the COVID-19 shots to very specific high risk groups, including Albertans living in care homes and group settings, those receiving home care, people on social programs such as AISH, and immunocompromised individuals.

Seniors living in the community, pregnant Albertans and health-care workers will have to pay out of pocket for the vaccine, along with the rest of the population. 

The province estimates the cost at $110 per dose.

“My dominant emotion is sadness because of the people who are going to be affected by this misguided policy,” said Dr. James Talbot, a former provincial chief medical officer of health.

“This is saying if you want to prevent yourself from getting a serious illness and the serious consequences that go with it, if you have money you’re fine. If you’re a member of the working poor or a single parent family, you’re out of luck.”

Premier Danielle Smith defended the decision on Monday, saying because vials contain multiple doses that need to be used within hours of opening, over one million doses have been wasted in pharmacies and doctors’ offices.

“That’s $135 million. And so that was very influential in saying, is there a better way for us to do it,” Smith said at an unrelated news conference in Calgary.

“The national standards now are to prioritize those who have the most likelihood of an adverse affect or adverse outcomes. So we prioritize those who are most at risk. And that’s what we decided to do.”

Talbot, also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta, suggested the waste should have been identified and addressed much earlier and that options including single-use packaging should be investigated.

On Monday, Smith said that is something they’re lobbying pharmaceutical companies for. But in the meantime, she said Albertans who want a vaccine will have to sign up for one in advance.

“We just have so many priorities in health care, we can’t afford to be wasting money,” she said.

High risk groups

Infectious diseases experts argue Alberta isn’t actually following the most recent guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).

“I think there’s some … very significant gaps. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Alberta veer so far away from national recommendations. And I think as a precedent, that’s extremely concerning,” said Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta.

NACI recommends all adults 65 years of age and older should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. Groups including pregnant individuals, people with underlying health conditions, First Nations individuals and health-care workers should also get the shot, the guidance states.

“Alberta is not taking that first recommendation, it seems,” said Saxinger.

A secondary recommendation states that everyone else “may” receive a shot.

“It still recommends routine COVID-19 vaccination may be given. It’s not recommending that it not be given,” she said.

At the University of Calgary, Craig Jenne is worried Alberta’s new policy will result in reduced vaccine uptake in the province.

“Which ultimately is going to lead to an increased number of people requiring medical treatment, hospitalizations, ICU visits and — hopefully not, but likely — increased loss of life in the province,” said Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases.

According to provincial data, 368 Albertans have died due to COVID-19 and there have been more than 3,000 hospitalizations since the end of August 2024.

The federal government, which had been paying for the COVID-19 vaccines, is no longer doing so. Until its announcement on Friday, the Alberta government had been tight-lipped about how it would handle coverage moving forward.

Premier Danielle Smith addressed the COVID-19 vaccine policy changes on her weekend radio program Your Province, Your Premier.

On that show she said the province threw away over a million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine “because people just don’t want to get the vaccine [at] the same rate as others.”

Smith was asked why that is.

“I think it’s because it doesn’t work particularly well, if you want the truth. I mean … a vaccine is one where you get an injection once or twice, and then you never develop the underlying condition. And so you have to judge vaccines on that basis,” she said.

Talbot rejects the claim that the COVID-19 vaccine doesn’t work very well.

“She is absolutely wrong about how effective the vaccine is. And her own Ministry of Health has the data to prove it,” said Talbot, who is also an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta.

Jenne is also pushing back.

“This is a bit frustrating because this continues to lead to confusion and perhaps a little mistrust in the vaccines,” he said.

“Throughout the various mutations of the virus, throughout the various vaccine updates, they continue to work extremely well at preventing hospitalization, at preventing ICU admission, and — critically — at preventing death.”

During the 2024-25 respiratory virus season, 697,471 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine were given out.

The provincial government said it has purchased 485,000 doses for the upcoming fall and winter season.

A spokesperson from the Ministry of Primary and Preventative Health Services told CBC News that vaccine orders are based on several factors, “including expected uptake, previous wastage, and the number of Albertans likely to be at risk for severe outcomes.”

Health-care workers

The Alberta Medical Association is raising the alarm about the provincial government’s exclusion of high-risk groups identified by NACI, including seniors in the community and health workers.

It’s also concerned there is no mention of pregnant individuals, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Albertans, and other racialized groups.

“This is counter to what other jurisdictions continue to do and to recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization,” Dr. Shelley Duggan, the Alberta Medical Association president, said in an emailed statement.

Calling the decision “irresponsible” and “dangerous,” the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) is demanding the government immediately reverse the decision.

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) is also calling on the province to provide COVID vaccines to all front-line health-care workers and “any Albertan who requests them” free of charge.

Meanwhile, Talbot said there is an economic argument to be made for providing the vaccine for free to Albertans, because it keeps people healthy — and in the workforce — and reduces health care costs and keeps hospital beds free for other Albertans who need them.

And, pointing to ongoing concerns about provincial messaging, he argued the vaccine waste should have been addressed earlier.

“The marketing campaign was late. It was ineffective,” he said.

“You have to wonder what their motivation is when they know they have vaccines, they know they need to be marketing them to Albertans, and they don’t bother to do it and then they point their finger to Albertans for not being interested in getting the vaccine.”