The Alberta government will stop funding and distributing vaccines to a majority of family medicine clinics. Only around twenty establishments will still be entitled to it.
After several months of uncertainty, the province confirmed the news to CBC/Radio-Canada, explaining that it was ending its vaccine distribution program, expanded in 2021 due to COVID-19.
As we continue to move away from the pandemic, we have reassessed our needs and will resume distributing provincially funded vaccines only to selected facilities, we read in a press release from the Ministry of Health.
To limit vaccine waste, we will focus on distribution to the most vulnerable populations, in rural and remote communities and in clinics that administer the highest number of vaccines.
A quote from Alberta Health
The province will therefore continue to distribute vaccines against influenza, pneumococcus, as well as the Tdap vaccine, which treats tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, to a select group of establishments.
Before being paused in the spring, distribution of these funded vaccines covered 500 to 600 family medicine clinics across Alberta.
Concerns among family doctors
Mareli Powell, a family doctor in Fox Creek and Edmonton, says many clinics are at risk of being affected, from those that administer tetanus shots when stitches are needed to maternity clinics that include vaccination in their care prenatal.
Considering that almost 300,000 people get vaccinated at a family medicine clinic, we can expect that to change the vaccination rate in the province, she said.
It also risks putting a strain on our system when flu season is in full swing.
A quote from Mareli Powell, family doctor in Edmonton
Christine Luelo, a family doctor in Calgary, wonders what explains such a decision.
In the best case, [le gouvernement] does not take into account the consequences of not including vaccination in the basic care provided by local clinics. In the worst case, he actively works to keep quiet about vaccines, which is quite alarming, she argues.
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Christine Luelo is a family physician in Calgary. Before the interruption of vaccine distribution at family practice clinics, she administered vaccines at her clinic.
Photo: Provided by Christine Luelo
Influenza, COVID-19, pneumococcal and Tdap vaccines are available at nearly 1,600 pharmacies and 150 Alberta Health Services health centers. According to the province, 97% of the population who received a flu vaccine last year had access to it in one of these establishments.
However, the president of the Alberta Medical Association, Shelley Duggan, believes that vaccination in family medicine clinics produces significant results.
Nearly 4% of immunizations are administered this way, and it’s important because each person vaccinated helps keep others safe, she says.
Last year, the flu vaccination rate reached its lowest level in Alberta, at just 24%.
With information from Jennifer Lee
