Alberta makes COVID-19 booster shots available to more people

The Government of Alberta is rolling out an expansion to booster shot eligibility.

Starting Monday, booster shots will be given to Albertans 70 and older, First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people 18 and older, as well as front-line health-care workers who received their second dose less than eight weeks after their first dose.

“You may ask, why are we making this more generally available to the First Nations, Indigenous communities at 18 and above?” Premier Jason Kenney said.

“Well, the data sadly shows that Indigenous people have suffered significantly worse outcomes for COVID-19 than the general Alberta population and this is a reflection of that higher level of risk.”

He says the province wants to provide protection to “anybody who might have an elevated risk level.”

Eligible groups in Alberta can start booking their third COVID-19 shots now, but they have to wait six months between their second and third dose.

Kenney explained expansion to third dose eligibility is based on recommendations from both the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) and the Alberta Advisory Committee on Immunization.

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• COVID-19 booster shots available to British Columbians 12+ by mid-January

In B.C., seniors, Indigenous peoples aged 18 and up, health-care workers, people living in long-term care, and those identified as being at higher risk are currently eligible for booster shots.

Last week, B.C.’s top doctor said those who received two doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine could get their booster shots sooner than expected, expanding the groups who would receive additional shots early.

“We know that for the most part, we started already with long-term care, with seniors in our community, with people who have compromised immune systems, and the data has also shown as we present it that individuals who received two doses of AstraZeneca have had waning of protection from infection,” Dr. Bonnie Henry explained. “Thankfully, they still have very strong, good protection for serious illness, but lower protection against infection.”

As a result, people in B.C. who fall under this category will begin receiving invitations for booster shots six months after their second dose.

“This may be sooner than other healthy adults in the community where we know there’s very good, strong protection that’s lasting well,” Henry said.

The provincial health officer confirmed booster shots will be mRNA vaccines, adding that combination with viral vector vaccines “has been shown to be very effective and long lasting.”

Related video: B.C. advises boosters for AstraZeneca recipients

Two weeks ago, NACI announced it was adding people who had received two doses of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, as well as those who got the single-shot Johnson & Johnson, to its list of people who should get boosters.

B.C. was the first province to announce boosters for all people 12 years and older. Those shots are expected to be available starting in mid-January.

In Alberta, around 40,000 long-term care residents and over 180,000 immunocompromised Albertans have already received the third dose.

As of Thursday, 87.3 per cent of Albertans 12 and older have received at least one dose, while 80.9 per cent are fully vaccinated.