Alberta has reached another milestone in the fight against COVID-19. More than 50 per cent of the eligible population is now fully vaccinated against the disease.
More than 1.9 million Albertans — 50.7 per cent of those 12 and older — have received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the province announced Wednesday afternoon.
“The more Albertans who are vaccinated, the stronger we all are against COVID-19,” Health Minister Tyler Shandro said in a news release.
“I encourage Albertans who have not signed up for their vaccine yet to do so immediately to protect themselves and their loved ones. Every dose matters.”
As of July 6, 73.6 per cent of eligible Albertans have received at least one dose of vaccine.
“Thank you to the 2.8 million Albertans who have done the right thing by sticking it to COVID,” Premier Jason Kenney said.
“Thanks to their diligence, we have been able to open for summer. As our vaccination rate continues to climb, so does the prospect of Alberta being open for good. Let’s keep up the great work to keep our families, our communities and our province safe.”
When it comes to the total population of Alberta, 62.6 per cent of people have received at least one dose of vaccine and 43.1 per cent are fully vaccinated. COVID-19 vaccines have not yet been approved for youth 11 and under.
Appointments for first and second doses of vaccine can be booked through Alberta Health Services online, by calling 811 or through a participating pharmacy.
Anyone who received an mRNA vaccine for their first dose can book their second dose four weeks later. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are interchangeable, so the province encourages people to take the first appointment available.
Anyone who received AstraZeneca for their first dose should book their second-dose appointment at least eight weeks after their first. Those who received AstraZeneca for their first dose can receive AstraZeneca or either of the mRNA vaccines as their second dose.
COVID-19 numbers Wednesday
The vaccine milestone came as Alberta identified 67 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Two additional deaths were reported to Alberta Health in the last 24 hours. A man in his 70s in the Calgary zone and a man in his 80s in the North zone died. Both cases included comorbidities, according to Alberta Health. Alberta’s death toll from COVID-19 has now reached 2,307.
Active cases continue to drop in Alberta, down to 745 active cases Wednesday from 763 active cases Tuesday.
Of the active cases, 374 are in the Calgary zone, 137 are in the Edmonton zone, 134 are in the North zone, 79 are in the Central zone, 19 are in the South zone and two are in an unknown zone.
Hospitalizations from the disease increased slightly to 140 Wednesday from 138 Tuesday. Of those, 30 people are being treated in intensive care, down from 32 people on Tuesday.
Since the pandemic began in March 2020, Alberta has identified 232,336 confirmed cases of COVID-19. As of Wednesday, 229,284 people have recovered.
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