Alberta receives first shipment of Moderna vaccine

While the Moderna vaccines arrive in the province, Alberta will not meet the goal of inoculating 29,000 by the end of the year. MORE:

EDMONTON (660 NEWS) — Alberta has received 16,900 doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

This batch will be used to immunize residents at long-term care and designated supportive living facilities starting with those at highest risk.

The vaccines will be delivered at sites in Calgary, St. Paul, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Edmonton and be offered to residents in continuing care facilities in these communities.

“This is exciting news for staff, residents and families of these facilities who have been on the frontlines of our battle with COVID-19 since the spring and who have experience untold pain and loss,” Premier Jason Kenney said.

“While this is encouraging it is not the end of our hard work.

“We must continue to follow the health guidelines of course and do everything we can to keep each other safe.”

The doses will be offered to residents at six First Nation congregate living facilities on-reserve.

Immunization of residents in continuing care facilities will start on Dec. 30.

The Moderna vaccine can be easily transported to these facilities because it doesn’t require to be frozen at a specific temperature like the Pfizer doses.

Alberta Health Services (AHS) has immunized around 7,000 people which is below the provinces target of vaccinating 29,000 people by the end of December.

“AHS had been holding back half of the doses in our possession in order to set them aside for the administration of the second dose,” Kenney said.

The province is scheduled to administer about 4,000 more doses of the vaccine in the next couple of days and AHS has been directed to schedule appointments on New Year’s Day, he added.

On Tuesday, 872 new COVID-19 cases were reported.

There were 26 more deaths bringing the total to 1,028.

Active infections continue to trend downwards with the total sitting at 14,785.

There are 890 people in hospital, 153 of those in the ICU.

To date, over 83,000 people have recovered from the virus.

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