Some Alberta physicians will now be offering the COVID-19 vaccine.
In an announcement Wednesday, the province said starting April 19, specific physician clinics across the province will be offering the COVID-19 vaccine in a pilot program.
After the pilot, the program will expand to include more clinics across the province in May.
The exact locations of the clinics participating in the pilot will not be announced publicly. Clinic staff will contact patients and handle appointment bookings directly.
There will be two participating clinics in each Alberta Health Services zone during the pilot phase over the next several weeks. Each clinic will receive 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine.
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“Since the start of the pandemic, community physicians have worked hard to support and protect their patients,” said Alberta Minister of Health Tyler Shandro.
“This pilot is another step forward. Albertans will now have another way to receive their COVID-19 vaccines from an important part of our health-care system. We’re aiming to expand this pilot to many, many more physician clinics as soon as possible.”
Alberta Health has worked with the Alberta Medical Association and the Primary Care Network to get physicians involved in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
The AMA says they hope to play a big role in vaccine administration going forward.
“Alberta’s community-based physicians have been playing a key role in caring for patients throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Albertans have a strong connection to their family physicians and look to them for important decisions about their health, such as vaccination,” said president of Alberta Medical Association Dr. Paul Boucher in a release.
“The vaccination of all eligible Albertans is a monumental task and leveraging all our collective resources will be essential in getting this done efficiently. We hope that this pilot effort will lead to significant expansion in vaccine capacity through participating community physician offices.”
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