Late this afternoon, the Alberta government announced a new COVID vaccine strategy that includes restrictions on who has access, a new pre-ordering system and a shift to charging Albertans directly out of pocket for their vaccinations.
“Public health decisions should be made based on the best medical evidence available, something sorely lacking in this vaccination strategy. Instead we have a government more interested in pandering to anti-vaccine rhetoric than they are in doing their job to protect the public and our health care system from preventable disease” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “The fact this announcement was put out quietly, late on a Friday afternoon, shows a government who’s hoping the majority of Albertans don’t notice these policy changes and the new costs soon to be coming their way.”
Today’s announcement isn’t a complete surprise given the government spent $2 million on Pandemic Task Force Report that was widely condemned as being anti-science and anti-evidence when released earlier this year. Alberta's low vaccination rates have brought an increase in the prevalence of other avoidable infectious diseases like influenza and RSV. This year, Alberta has seen our highest influenza death rates since 2009 and we continue to set historic new records for measles cases in Alberta.
“If the government was serious about tackling vaccine waste they would get serious about public health, public education and promoting the benefits of a variety of vaccines,” said Gallaway. “Instead, last year the government slashed province-wide immunization campaign spending in half, compared to spending the previous year. Is it any surprise fewer Albertans then went and got vaccinated?”
When it comes to the pandemic and the ongoing impact it has had on our public health care system, this government has similarly failed to prioritize evidence or the health care needs of Albertans, including refusing to implement paid sick days for workers or to act protect children and seniors in care at their most vulnerable, the abrupt and unjustified closure of Alberta’s already scarce long-COVID outpatient programs, and recent moves to take more direct control over Public Health decisions.
“The passing of Bill 55 last month moved Public Health away from being arm’s length and instead houses it under direct political control of the government. Albertans should be asking themselves which rights or health care services will our provincial government attack or undermine next? And how much more will they be forced to pay out of pocket for health care?” concluded Gallaway.