Doctors renew push for free COVID shots for more Albertans, after coverage reinstated for health workers

Doctors are renewing their calls for the Alberta government to offer the COVID-19 vaccine for free to anyone who wants it, now that the province has agreed to cover health-care workers.

In June, the province announced plans to charge most Albertans for the COVID shot this fall. But after weeks of pushback from doctors, scientists and health-care unions, it partially walked back its decision this week.

On Tuesday, the Alberta government confirmed that health-care workers would be offered the COVID immunization, which is expected to cost more than $100 per shot, for free.

“I’m hoping this is a sign that the government is re-evaluating its policy, in part because it is so out of step with the rest of the country,” said Dr. James Talbot, a former chief medical officer of health in Alberta.

Health experts, including Talbot, argue Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccine policy makes it an outlier in Canada, noting it diverges from guidance provided by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI).

At a bare minimum, he said, the province should cover other groups that NACI identifies as high-risk, including people who are pregnant, adults aged 65 and older, and people in or from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.

But ideally, Alberta should offer the COVID-19 vaccine for free to anyone who wants it, Talbot said.

“[Alberta should] return to the norm in Canada, which is that when you have a vaccine that prevents serious consequences, including death, that that vaccine is made available free of charge to people, so we don’t create inequities in the system where the rich are covered and the poor are not,” said Talbot, who is also an adjunct professor in the University of Alberta’s school of public health.

NACI’s guidelines also recommend that people who are not considered high-risk may be offered a COVID vaccine.

The move would reduce ER visits, hospital admissions and other strains on the health system, including ongoing care for people who develop long COVID, said Talbot.

When the province announced its new plans, it said the vaccine would be offered in stages and coverage would be limited to specific high-risk groups including Albertans living in care homes and group settings, those receiving home care, people on social programs such as AISH, and immunocompromised individuals.

‘This is their moment’

Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, said now is the time for the Alberta government to offer universal coverage of the COVID vaccine after it reinstated coverage for health workers.

“By taking this step, the government has admitted these vaccines are good, that they work [and] they keep people healthier. So they should expand it back to all Albertans.… This is their moment to do that,” he said.

“They should really ensure all Albertans can access this vaccine if they want it, and stop with the anti-vaccine rhetoric and stop with the political choice over the public health choice.”

Edmonton-based infectious disease specialist, Dr. Lynora Saxinger, is pleased the province has reversed course and will cover health-care workers.

Her biggest concern now is that easy, free access to the COVID vaccine should be offered to seniors, most of whom are not covered under the current plan.

“I’m hoping that there’s still active discussions going on about the prior decisions, because things are evolving to look like it could potentially be a high-impact COVID season again. And we know that people who are two-dose vaccinated are not well protected right now and we already have pretty full hospitals,” said Saxinger, who works at the University of Alberta Hospital.

“For people over 65, there’s clearly increased risk and I think it’s not appropriate to not make it easy for them to access vaccines.”

Positivity rates are rising, she said, and the virus has evolved to make the most recent vaccine that most people would have received, less of a match.

“I think there is a real risk of increased severity and also higher numbers of infection this fall and winter,” said Saxinger.

She also wants the province to clarify which immunocompromised Albertans will be eligible for free immunizations. It has yet to share that information

The Alberta government did not answer specific questions from CBC News about whether it is considering expanding coverage.

“The fall immunization plan is currently being finalized, and full details — including eligibility and any administrative fees — will be available soon,” a spokesperson for Adriana LaGrange, Alberta’s minister of primary and preventative health services, said via email.

The province has estimated the COVID-19 vaccine could cost $110 per shot.

It has said previously that $135 million worth of doses were never used and ended up discarded during the 2023-24 respiratory virus season, and that the policy change was designed to avoid vaccine waste.