The Albertans, who want to continue protecting themselves from the Covid-19 virus, announced they had announced it late Friday afternoon.
Since December 2020, the federal government has been searching for after procurement and purchase of vaccines. The Canadian Public Health Agency said it is unique to the Covid-19 pandemic compared to other routine vaccination programs.
This year, the Covid-19 vaccine procurement process has shifted from the federal role to the local and territorial procurement process ahead of the fall 2025 respiratory virus season, shifting to how other vaccinations are being supplied for diseases around the world, such as influenza.
As a result of federal changes, the Alberta government is handing costs to most Albertans who want to get vaccinated.
Healthcare advocates have denounced the state's move.
“Public health decisions should be made based on the best medical evidence available, something that is extremely lacking in this vaccination strategy. Instead, we have a government that is more interested in pandering into anti-vaccination rhetoric than doing the job to protect the public and our healthcare system from preventable diseases.”
“The fact that this announcement was quietly made late Friday afternoon shows that new costs will soon come with a government that wants the majority of Albertans to not be aware of these policy changes.”
Opposition NDP reflected the feelings of Medicare friends.
“For the UCP government, it is cruel to place an additional financial burden on Albertans who want to protect their health and their loved ones and not become a community,” said NDP Shadow Health Minister Sarah Hoffman.
“It's dangerous, merciless, anti-science, anti-public health.”
Vaccines are still covered in the state for some groups of high-risk individuals, such as elderly people, those living in their lives, those with underlying medical conditions, or those with immunocompromised, and Albertans who need social support, such as AISH.
In most cases, in addition to adding fees, Covid-19 vaccines will only be available through public health clinics, and pharmacies will no longer administer the vaccine.
The state said work is currently underway to determine what the final cost is for each vaccine, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates a cost of $110 per vaccine dose.
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“The cost of a Covid-19 vaccine to taxpayers should not exceed $49 million, much of which will be offset through cost recovery in phases 3 and 4,” the state said in a news release, with the Covid-19 vaccine program being rolled out in four phases, starting with the best risk groups and gradually expanding to abundance.
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Phase 1: The state-funded vaccine will be available free of charge to residents of supportive living accommodations for seniors and home care clients.
Phase 2: The locally funded COVID-19 vaccine will be available free of charge to Albertans over six months in fundamental medical conditions, immune system compromises, or gatherings of accommodations where they live, and social programs (i.e. AISH, income support, and individuals experiencing homelessness).
Phase 3: The Covid-19 vaccine will be available to all Albertans over the age of 65 and must cover the full cost of the vaccine.
Phase 4: All other Albertans who need to pay the full cost.
In making the announcement Friday, the government pointed to the US Food and Drug Administration, led by longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
However, following the announcement, Canadian obstetricians and gynecologists said that Covid-19 vaccinations are “safe and highly recommended” during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
In January, the UCP government issued a controversial report urging the state to halt the use of the Covid-19 vaccine.
The report was commissioned shortly after Prime Minister Daniel Smith came to power in the second half of 2022, pledging to save her supporters of COVID-19 complaints.
However, critics accused the report of calling it “a sad document – it lacks serious credibility.”
Instead of encouraging Albertans to get vaccinated, the UCP government advises doctors to talk to them about “the best course for their needs.”
“If the government was serious about addressing vaccine waste, they would be serious about promoting public health, public education and the benefits of various vaccines,” Gallaway said.
Friends at Medicare said low vaccination rates in Alberta increased the prevalence of other avoidable infectious diseases, such as influenza and RSV.
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“This year, Alberta has had the highest influenza mortality rate since 2009, and continues to set a historic new record of the measles incident in Alberta.”
As of Friday, the state had a measles incident in which 879 lab-approved labs.
“We outperformed the state's 843 measles peak in 1985 with 868. Think about it. The best number we can see in 50 years.”
“Vaccinations are the only way to prevent unnecessary, life-threatening diseases and further instability in acute treatment.”
The state said from August 11th that eligible Albertans can demonstrate their intention to receive the Covid-19 and flu vaccines by pre-ordering via the Alberta vaccine reservation system.
You will then get a text or email reminder to book an appointment for your vaccination in early October.
When Albertans booked appointments for the 2025-Autumn 26 vaccination, the province said they could also pre-order the 2026-27 vaccine.
The state said the respiratory virus season between 2023 and 24 saw the Covid-19 vaccine total of over 1 million people, 54% of Alberta's orders that year.
He said it is important to better assess the number of vaccines needed to support efforts to minimize waste and control costs as the state is paying to procure vaccines.
“Based on the Center for Disease Control and Cost Accounting Estimates of $110 per vaccine dose, this means that around $135 million worth of vaccines were not used and discarded,” the state news release said.
“If the UCP government is really interested in eliminating waste and protecting the health of Albertans, it will promote vaccines,” Hoffman said in a statement.
“The supply will be used and we will keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”
During the 2025-26 season, the Alberta government said about 485,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses had been ordered.
The estimated budget costs for the 2025-26 season are around $2 million for RSV and $19 million for the flu, said Primary and Preventive Health Services (formerly Health, Alberta).
Alberta still covers the costs of almost all other routine vaccinations, including flu, measles, mumps, levelera, polio, tetanus, chicken pox, whooping cough, HPV, and meningitis. It also covers RSV shots aimed at seniors.
Albertans already pays from the pocket for several vaccines, including those recommended for travel purposes, such as the Twinrix vaccine for Hepatitis A and B and the Shingrix vaccine.