Alberta’s first-dose COVID-19 vaccination rates have slowed in recent weeks, prompting businesses and the province to work together on a new approach to reach those who are not yet vaccinated.
Alberta Health and a coalition of companies have created a mobile vaccination clinic that will target worksites, remote camps, farms, hard-to-reach populations, rural communities and areas where uptake is low.
The clinic will start offering immunizations next week. Then, it will continue on a tour to communities and workplaces across Alberta, the province said Thursday.
“The mobile clinic will help Alberta go ‘the last mile’ in getting Albertans vaccinated,” said Matthew Cox, president and CEO of TRAXX Holdings.
“We’re excited to partner with other like-minded leaders in industry to make this clinic a reality and support underserved areas in the province.”
The mobile clinic came to be thanks to several months’ work by a group of businesses called Industry for Vaccination.
“This project was born out of the question: ‘What can business do to help drive up vaccination rates?’ particularly for hard-to-reach populations or in areas with lower uptake,” said Adam Legge, president of the Business Council of Alberta.
“Alberta’s companies felt strongly about being part of the solution and want to play an active role in helping vaccinate Albertans. There is a role for business, working together with government, to help make life better for Albertans so that we can see loved ones again and begin to rebuild.”
The mobile vaccination clinic will help to provide first and second COVID-19 vaccine doses to communities across Alberta.
“Right now, we anticipate being able to administer up to 300 doses a day per bus with the number of immunizers we have available to us and with the layout we designed in partnership with TRAXX,” said James Puckrin, operating manager with ACESO Medical.
The mobile vaccination clinic will also be a model for when Alberta shifts from a pandemic response into a likely seasonal campaign, the government said.
“Alberta’s private sector has always supported our efforts to get as many Albertans vaccinated as possible,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said in a news release. “They understand the value of getting our population protected so we can get back to our lives, our work and past the pandemic.”
To request more information or to bring the mobile vaccination clinic to a site, please visit businesscouncilab.com/vaccinations/.
To book your COVID-19 vaccine appointment, click here.
As of July 20, Alberta had administered more than 5.1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 75 per cent of Albertans aged 12 and older have received at least one dose and 60.7 per cent have been fully vaccinated.