Staff prepare vaccine at the pop-up COVID-19 vaccination clinic at the Village Square Leisure Centre in northeast Calgary on Sunday, June. 6, 2021.Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia

Alberta reports 1,300 COVID-19 cases over three days as eligibility expands for third doses of vaccine

Hospitalizations decreased over the last three days; however, an additional 13 COVID-19 deaths were recorded. Alberta's COVID-19 death toll is 3,155

by · Calgary Herald

Another 1,300 cases of COVID-19 were reported in Alberta over the last three days, as appointments opened for booster doses of vaccine for some seniors, adults and health-care workers.

With 586 new cases identified on Friday, 430 on Saturday and 284 on Sunday, the number of active cases provincewide remained above 6,000 at 6,387 — only one fewer active case than when data was last released on Friday.

Alberta reports 1,300 COVID-19 cases over three days as eligibility expands for third doses of vaccine Back to video

Hospitalizations decreased over the last three days; however, an additional 13 COVID-19 deaths were recorded. Alberta’s COVID-19 death toll is 3,155.

There are now 608 COVID patients in hospital, including 135 in intensive-care units. This is down from 660 patients reported in hospital Friday, which included 141 in ICU.

“Of the 473 non-ICU (patients), 72.6 per cent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s chief medical officer of health, said online Monday.

“Of the 135 in ICU, 85.9 per cent are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated.”

Appointments for third doses of COVID-19 vaccine opened Monday for Albertans age 70 and over, First Nations, Métis and Inuit people age 18 and over, front-line health-care workers who received a second dose within eight weeks of their first, and people who received shots of the AstraZeneca or Jansen vaccines — also known as viral vector vaccines.

However, their appointment for a third dose must come at least six months after receiving their second shot.

Appointments could be booked starting Monday online through Alberta Health’s online tool,  by calling 811 or through participating pharmacies.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said last week the expansion to the booster dose rollout is based on recommendations by the Alberta Advisory Committee on Immunization and National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

“We want to provide that protection to anybody who might have elevated risk level,” said Kenney during a press conference last week .

“At the moment there is no evidence or scientific advice that the general population needs booster doses now.”

As of Monday, 81.2 per cent of the eligible population — those age 12 and over — are fully vaccinated, representing 69.1 per cent of the total population. Meanwhile, 87.5 per cent of those eligible have gotten at least one dose.

Hinshaw explained online Monday that vaccines are safe, effective and save lives.

Also Monday, the United States land border was opened to fully vaccinated Canadian travellers for the first time since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

A traffic jam clogged the road at the town of Coutts, Alberta, where the wait to cross the border stretched to four hours before noon and levelled off at about three hours by the mid-afternoon.

Coutts Mayor Jim Willett said vehicles and RVs began showing up as early as Friday, tripling the population of a town that’s usually home to fewer than 300 people.

“Talking to people who have lived here all their lives, they’ve never seen a lineup this long before,” Willett said.

—  With files from The Canadian Press

sbabych@postmedia.com
Twitter: @BabychStephanie