Thread by @CMOH_Alberta

Here is a summary of today’s #COVID19AB update: We have administered approx 380K doses of vaccine. 18K+ appointments have been booked with AHS & thousands more with pharmacies since 2A began yesterday. Thank you to all eligible ABs who are signing up to be immunized. (1/9)

Starting tomorrow at 8am, ABs born in 1951 or earlier & FNMI born in 1966 or earlier can book through AHS. There is high demand, pharmacy sites & phone lines, 811 & AHS online booking are understandably busy. We ask for your patience, everyone will get a chance to book. (2/9)

Over the last 24 hrs, we ID’d 355 new cases & completed about 6K tests. Our positivity rate is about 5.9%. There are active alerts/outbreaks in 276 schools, about 11% of schools in AB, w/ 1,160 cases since Jan. 11. There are 260 ppl in hospital incl. 44 in ICU. (3/9)

Sadly, 3 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hrs. My sympathies go to the families and friends of these individuals and anyone who is mourning the loss of someone they loved, no matter the cause. (4/9)

Currently, there are 509 active variant cases, about 11% of all active cases in AB. Thanks to the hard work of our labs, we are screening every positive case for variants & now can screen up to 1K samples/day. (5/9)

While we’ve prevented significant spread in AB so far, the % of variants in our active cases is rising. In some ways, there is a race between variants & vaccines. We need to limit the spread, while we work to immunize ABs who are most vulnerable to severe outcomes. (6/9)

Pfizer & AstraZeneca vaccines are effective against the B.1.1.7 variant that is most common in AB. The Moderna vaccine is also expected to be effective. Getting immunized against COVID-19 is important to protect yourself, those close to you & your entire community. (7/9)

We need to continue to do the things that have worked to keep transmission as low as possible. I know we are all tired of COVID & restrictions, but the next few months are critical. The health measures in place work against variants, it’s up to us to keep following them. (8/9)

Wash/sanitize hands. Maintain physical distance & wear a mask. Stay home if even slightly unwell & keep reducing the # of in-person interactions you have. These simple steps continue to be our best bet at keeping COVID-19 under control while we rollout the vaccine. (9/9)