Saturday's letters: Alberta's COVID policy un-Canadian
Is J.D. Vance running Alberta Health now? While trying to access a COVID shot last week, I discovered through the local pharmacist they had been instructed to destroy any of their remaining COVID vaccine on Aug. 1. A call to 811 to book a shot revealed it is not available until the 'fall.'
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No one in Alberta can access COVID vaccine right now. When someone decides I'm allowed to protect my health, I now must pay for the vaccine. My pharmacist was paid $13 by Alberta Health per shot. What will we pay? Sick and want to know if it's COVID? You must now pay $20 for four single COVID tests. It's feeling more like the U.S.A. every day. This is Canada!
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I was reading Wednesday's letters to the editor and share the frustration a fellow reader had trying to pre-order the COVID vaccine. I, too, made the mistake of logging in and expecting to be able to use the current online booking system to pre-order the vaccine. However, the current vaccine-booking system you log into will not allow you to book new 2025-26 bookings and tells you the ordering period for '24-'25 is over.
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Interestingly enough, a new web location specifically dedicated to pre-order has been created and they did not redirect anyone who naively assumed they would simply use the current live online booking system. There is no confirmation or validation of input data when pre-ordering; it just took my information and basically threw up a web page: 'call you later.' I suspect if some good-hearted soul pre-orders enough for the entire province via fake names and numbers, then the province will go ahead and over-order vaccines yet again.
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Or perhaps, once it is identified that without authentication or confirming an individual's AHS number or residence in Alberta, someone will decide the data is inaccurate and invalid and thus will require everyone who has pre-ordered to go back and once again use the current online booking site that validates your Alberta identity to pre-order yet again.
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