A steady stream of people came out across the city Monday for the first day of influenza and COVID-19 immunization availability.
People have the option to get their shots at the same time, something pharmacist Randy Howden says is in high demand.
“My husband and I travel, and we spend our winters in Palm Springs,” Delores Davidson said while in line for her shots. “I wanted to get it all done and get the reaction over with, if there was any. I think you have to be proactive about your health and I think this is one way of doing it.”
“It was offered to me both at the same time,” Linda Mcwhinnie added. “I was very happy to do that because I’d booked a flu shot and (the pharmacist) says ‘We’ll do COVID at the same time.’ Excellent.”
Howden, who also serves as president of the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association, said the majority of people booking in at the Medicine Shoppe in Crowfoot are getting both shots, but there has been some trouble getting a full supply of the COVID vaccine elsewhere.
“The flu shots were very easy,” Howden said. “The COVID-19 shot has been a little bit more challenging. We were only allowed to order one or two boxes — so 50 or 100 doses — and we weren’t able to get our allocation until Thursday last week. So it was quite stressful, hoping that we’d get some for today.”
Infectious disease researcher Dr. Craig Jenne said COVID-19 cases are rising again, mirroring climbing numbers in British Columbia and Ontario.
There were 857 new COVID-19 cases in Alberta last week, according to provincial data.
And since the start of July, the positivity rate on PCR tests has risen non-stop.
“It’s frustrating given that (vaccination) is the tool that is going to protect those in our community that are most at risk,” Jenne said. “We know every year that the vaccine is the single best tool we have to keep people out of the hospital. If they can’t access it, it’s going to be a little more difficult. And really, when it comes to these vaccines, if they get inconvenient people sometimes opt not to.
“We’re seeing a strong uptick in COVID-19 cases over the last week. So pretty rapid growth. So we’re starting to see the front end of another wave. The big question is how big will that wave be? What’s going to determine that is how many people have their immunity up to date.”
Jenne is also advising vulnerable Calgarians to get in the queue as flu season is expected to be a tough one.
“Flu looks like it has arrived in Alberta, maybe a little earlier than usual,” Jenne noted. “If we gauge this by what we had seen in Australia and other places during their flu season, we can expect perhaps a little rougher than usual.”
Albertans aged six months or older are eligible to get the shot.
This year’s vaccine is made up or two strains of Influenza A, which is usually linked to more significant illnesses, and two strains of Influenza B, the more mild of the two.
Residents aged 65 or older are eligible for the high-dose version.
The COVID-19 shot targets the latest strain of the Omicron variant.
An online booking tool is now available on the provincial government’s website.
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