EDMONTON — Yesterday afternoon, some of Alberta’s health care unions announced they had reached a deal with Alberta Health Services to ensure their members would be able to receive the COVID-19 immunizations free of charge on a voluntary basis. This is a change from the Alberta government’s previously announced COVID-19 immunization plan that tightly restricted access to free vaccines.
“The fact that the government’s initial plan was for only a tiny portion of Albertans to have free access to vaccines, and that they didn’t include health care workers in that plan, was incredibly short-sighted and disrespectful,” said Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare. “Alberta is in an ongoing short-staffing crisis. We have been hearing from many frontline health care workers who were frustrated with the government’s decision, and questioning why they would want to continue to work in a health care system that disregards their safety. So this change is good news for those it applies to.”
Public health decisions should be made based on the best medical evidence available, something still sorely lacking in the Alberta government’s approach to vaccinations. Restricting access and making Albertans pay for vaccines is the exact opposite of a public health strategy, and will add unnecessary pressure onto our already strained public health care system.
“Our government needs to stop pandering to anti-vaccine rhetoric, and start taking Alberta’s public health seriously,” said Gallaway. “It’s time for them to do their job, which is to protect the public and our health care system from preventable disease, and that means returning to universal coverage for COVID-19 vaccines for all Albertans.”
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