EDMONTON — As the number of Albertans who have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine continues to grow, so too does the discrepancy of that number between Alberta’s more rural North Zone and the rest of the province.

Government of Alberta data shows, as of May 12, 28.9 per cent of the population in the province’s North Zone had received at least one dose, that’s compared to 40.6 per cent in the Edmonton Zone, and between 34.6 per cent and 38.9 per cent in the other three zones.

Rural communities rely heavily on local pharmacies to dole out their vaccine supply, and while the reason for the lower percentage of vaccinated people in Alberta’s North Zone is unclear, some small town pharmacists CTV News Edmonton spoke to suggest inconsistent supply and vaccine hesitancy are two likely factors. 

Ryan MacMillan has been giving out Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in his Drayton Valley, Alta., pharmacy as often as he can – but with the store’s supply coming in every Wednesday, there are only three days a week when that’s possible.

“I have to use those up in the next two days or else I’m working weekends,” the pharmacist said.

The Pfizer vaccine has a fridge-life of 120 hours, or five days, once it’s been delivered.

“If I could get it on Mondays, that’d be a lot better because then I can basically give shots all week,” said MacMillan. “Now I’ve had to downsize how many I order, just so I use them all up before they expire.”

MacMillan says he’s asked his pharmacy’s vaccine supplier if the new doses can be delivered on Mondays.

“It was basically just a, ‘It comes on Wednesday,’” he said.

Over in Barrhead, Alta., Rita’s Pharmacy faces a similar challenge with vaccine shipments.

“It is very erratic, and very hard to plan,” said Lonni Johnson, pharmacist at Rita’s Pharmacy. “Planning bookings has become quite a nightmare.”

Johnson tells CTV News Edmonton they only know a new shipment of the Moderna vaccine is coming when it shows up at their back door.

Once delivered, Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine has a longer fridge-life than Pfizer’s, at 30 days, but the number of doses that arrive at the pharmacy, Johnson says, is often inconsistent – and if that number doesn’t at least match the number of appointments the pharmacy has made with members of the community, appointments need to be cancelled.

Johnson says she’s had to cancel as many as one hundred appointments in one day because of a lack of supply – and is even unsure her pharmacy will be able to honour appointments made for next week, because doses for those bookings have still yet to arrive.

Pharmacist Daniel Wilneff has worked in multiple rural Alberta areas assisting with the vaccine rollout, as well as the mass vaccination site at Edmonton’s Expo Centre.

If you ask him if the stories out of Drayton Valley and Barrhead are rare, he would say no.

Wilneff believes those same logistical challenges are happening across Alberta.

“The story is the exact same,” Wilneff told CTV News Edmonton. “The demand is there, but the supply isn’t.”

VACCINE HESITANCY

Supply isn’t the only factor working against growing the number of vaccinated Albertans.

As disinformation about the vaccines circulate online and elsewhere, fear inspired by false beliefs and conspiracy theories contribute to vaccine hesitancy.

Alberta pharmacists are regularly fielding questions from people with concerns about the vaccine; a standard practice for the profession, but unfounded worries over microchipping and sterility in medications were perhaps not as common before COVID-19.

“Quite a bit of it is Facebook stuff. Like, ‘Oh, I heard my friend’s so and so died yesterday from this shot, is that true?’ Well, no,” said MacMillan.

The Drayton Valley pharmacist says he’s sat with some community members for as long as an hour, answering questions and trying to alleviate concerns.

At the end of the Q & A sessions, MacMillan says some people get the vaccine, but some don’t.

“I’m glad that they’re (asking questions),” said MacMillan, “because then they’re not spreading rumors that aren’t true and convincing more people, ‘Oh, maybe I don’t want it.'” 

One Barrhead man, who would only identify himself as John, told CTV News Edmonton he’s done “quite a bit of research on it,” and has no plans to get vaccinated for COVID-19 right now.

“We’ve been told so many lies from the Alberta Government and the mainstream media that we really don’t know what to believe,” John said while sitting in a vehicle next to his sister Judith.

Judith says she’ll never get a COVID-19 vaccine.

“If I’m going to die, I’d rather die from catching the disease than catching the vaccine,” she said.

Another Barrhead man CTV News Edmonton spoke to said he did get the vaccine. He believes people refusing to do the same are ignorant.

“We do have a couple members in the family that are… well they have a difference of opinion, but other than that all immediate family is in favour of the vaccine,” said Raymond Steele.

Those differences of opinion, according to MacMillan, can sometimes lead to ‘vaccine shaming.’ 

“A lot of people will come in to get their shot and they’ll tell me, ‘Can you please not tell anybody else I got this,’” said MacMillan.

Meanwhile, Wilneff believes vaccine hesitancy in rural Alberta is actually lower than in the province’s urban centres. He says it’s the lack of access for rural Albertans that prevents more of them from getting the shot.

“The rural areas, their options are their pharmacies,” he said. “There are a lot more clinics in the cities: Edmonton, Calgary, Red Deer.”

BRIBE OFFERS TO PHARMACISTS?

One Alberta pharmacist who wished to remain anonymous told CTV News Edmonton that he’s been approached on four separate occasions by people offering money for documentation saying they received the vaccine.

Wilneff says he himself has never been put into that position, and has never heard any other pharmacists make that claim either.

“I would be shocked to hear a pharmacy in Alberta doing something like that,” he said.

In a written statement to CTV News Edmonton, spokesperson for the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP) Barry Strader said the ACP “is not aware of any pharmacists being approached by members of the public requesting COVID-19 immunization documentation without providing vaccination.

“ACP requires that all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians comply with our Code of Ethics, standards of practice, practice guidelines, and provincial and federal legislation.”

While skepticism over the legitimacy of the vaccines does exist, MacMillan says there are also signs that opinions can be changed.

“I’ve definitely had questions from people that I thought, ‘There’s no way this person is going to get it,’ just because of the of the questions they’re asking,” said MacMillan. “And afterwards, when they told me, ‘I feel comfortable now, I’m glad you took the time to explain it to me,’ and, ‘Sign me up.'”

“It’s a good feeling,” he said. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Dan Grummett

EDMONTON — A criminologist says a recent court order that allows Alberta RCMP to arrest organizers of anti-lockdown rallies can limit or prevent future gatherings but does little to educate people who don’t believe in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The injunction issued May 6 allows police, for the first time, to arrest or remove anyone who is organizing, promoting or attending protests that challenge public health restrictions.

“It becomes personally costly for people to attend these kinds of events and, while that may not change their minds, it will impact people’s ability to engage in this kind of activity,” said Stanislav Vysotsky, an associate professor of criminology and criminal justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C.

But the order doesn’t do enough to explain to people the consequences of their actions, he said.

“There is this need to balance individual rights with public health responsibility, and making sure that our individual actions are not causing harm to others. This is where this becomes a tricky issue.”

Rallies and protests against lockdowns, masks, other COVID-19 restrictions and vaccines have been occurring regularly in Alberta.

Vysotsky and others say anti-lockdown rallies are happening in larger numbers in the province compared with the rest of Canada and are attended by conspiracy theorists.

Earlier this week, three people were ticketed and a separate order was issued against the owner of a cafe and gas station in Mirror, Alta., who organized an anti-lockdown protest last weekend. Health authorities said Christopher Scott’s business was not following public health measures and had shut it down a few days earlier.

About 400 people showed up in the rain and without masks. They cheered and clapped for Scott as he stood on stage and encouraged the crowd to challenge the seriousness of the pandemic.

Scott is before the courts for contravening the injunction and Alberta’s chief medical health officer, Dr. Dina Hinshaw, is to be cross-examined during a hearing.

The weekend before, when the province set a new record for infections, up to 1,500 people attended a maskless “No More Lockdowns” rodeo in central Alberta. The two organizers of that event are to appear in court Monday.

Three pastors also have trial dates after holding services that officials say ignored capacity limits, distancing and masking. The pastors have argued they have the right to gather and worship under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Alberta RCMP spokesman Fraser Logan said the new court order makes it easier for police to enforce regulations.

“Everyone has this feeling that maybe they don’t want to follow the public health restrictions as an individual. Outside of grumbling about it, you may not actually do anything about it,” Logan said.

“But if you have these individuals communicating to people to contravene the Public Health Act, that is something that, at the end of the day, we have to address.”

Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor of economics, justice, and policy studies at Calgary’s Mount Royal University, said mixed messaging by Premier Jason Kenney is responsible for a lot of the anger Albertans are feeling.

Sundberg points to the time when Kenney compared COVID-19 to just another flu. As well, the public doesn’t trust a government whose politicians tell people to follow health orders then secretly go on vacations to out of country, he added.

“When you have politicians who believe the conspiracy, who don’t listen to health authorities, don’t listen to others in government, this is where we’re starting to see toxic politics having a direct impact on human life, on public safety, and health,” Sundberg said.

“Wearing a mask has become a political statement.”

Vysotsky and Sundberg suggested the government can slow down COVID-19 infection rates – among the highest in North America – by speaking directly to community leaders.

“Alberta’s government needs to build some sort of dialogue with people who can be influential in the communities that are being drawn to these rallies, and can influence people to think differently about the pandemic and about their role in the pandemic,” said Vysotsky.

“The vast majority of people who attend these rallies are people who want the right thing but have just been persuaded after listening to some charismatic charlatan,” Sundberg added.

Logan said investigators in Alberta are aware of upcoming anti-mask and anti-lockdown rallies and police continue to communicate with protest organizers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2021.

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

EDMONTON — Alberta Premier Jason Kenney says he kept his distance in a debate over the fate of two outspoken backbenchers but believes his United Conservative caucus made the right decision to expel them.

“I did not reveal which way I was voting. I didn’t want to, you know, put my finger on the scale, but I did express my disappointment with some of the conduct,” Kenney said in an interview with CHED radio Friday.

“Ultimately what this says is we have to be a team. Let’s be professional. We can’t allow personal agendas to distract the team, or for that matter the government, from the business of governing, particularly in a time of (COVID-19) crisis like this.”

On Thursday, after a seven-hour virtual meeting, the caucus voted to turf members Todd Loewen and Drew Barnes. The vote came after weeks of caucus discontent over Kenney’s policies and decisions on the best way to arrest spread of the COVID-19 virus.

“There are a lot of internal issues, things that have happened between members, that ultimately caused, I think, a majority of our caucus to feel like they were being undermined and unable to work as a team,” said Kenney.

“I regret that – that it had to come to this – but I respect the decision our caucus has made and we’re going to move on, focused on the priorities of the public.”

The vote was made by sending text messages to Calgary legislature member Nick Milliken, acting caucus chairman.

Loewen and Barnes said that worked against them, because members had to text their ballot to Milliken and risk Kenney finding out how they voted.

No tally was released. Kenney said he knows it was a majority, but only Milliken knows how everyone voted.

Kenney has been wallowing in low poll numbers for months and party fundraising has fallen off sharply. But on Friday, he said: “I believe I have the confidence of the party I lead and the caucus that I serve with.”

Loewen and Barnes have said they will remain in the house as Independents to express the views of their constituents.

Both say the United Conservative Party under Kenney is no longer a grassroots-driven movement but a top-down, one-man show that sidelines and ignores backbench members and the concerns of the people they represent.

“The day could have turned out a whole bunch better for the UCP and for Albertans if the premier would start to take some responsibility and acknowledge how much of the problem he is,” said Barnes in an interview.

“Rather than acknowledge, listen and pivot, the premier decided to limit dissent.”

Thursday’s vote capped a day of internal party strife that began in the pre-dawn hours when Loewen posted on Facebook a public letter announcing he was quitting as caucus chairman and calling on Kenney to quit for the good of the party.

Loewen wrote that Kenney has botched key issues such as health care and the environment, has been weak-kneed with the federal government, and pursues confusing, contradictory and needlessly confrontational messaging.

Loewen, who represents the northern rural riding of Central Peace-Notley, said volunteers are leaving the party in droves and, without a new leader and a sharp change in direction, the UCP is headed for defeat in the 2023 election.

Barnes represents Cypress-Medicine Hat in southern Alberta. He has been the highly visible, highly critical and vocal point person for 18 backbench legislature members who have spoken out against Kenney’s public health restrictions.

The 18, most representing rural constituencies, have questioned the need for a one-size-fits-all approach, especially in areas with low case counts. They have said the measures may be more harmful than helpful at the cost of personal freedoms.

One of the 18, Ron Orr, took to Facebook on Friday to write: “I am sorry to see two members of caucus voted out, but I will not work for or support efforts to destroy the party or the leader from within.

“The premier has been more than fair and transparent with caucus. I also believe he is the leader God raised up for these times.”

Kenney has also been accused of bending too far backwards to cater to the concerns of rural areas – the core of his party’s support – at the expense of public health.

His government in the last two waves of the pandemic allowed COVID-19 cases to soar to levels that threatened to swamp hospitals before imposing stricter measures on businesses, capacity limits and on social gatherings.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley has said Albertans deserve a government focused on the pandemic and other critical issues and should not be held hostage to the twists and turns of UCP palace intrigue.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2021.

EDMONTON — The 177 Albertans in intensive care units sick with COVID-19 could grow to 200 or more by the first week of June, officials expect.

At his last news conference on Tuesday, Premier Jason Kenney estimated Alberta’s hospitals could be providing critical care to 200 COVID-19 patients before the end of May, plus some 60 Albertans who’ve suffered heart attacks, vehicle crashes and other medical traumas.

But an Edmonton doctor believes the premier’s projection is low.

Dr. Noel Gibney, co-chair of the Edmonton Zone Medical Staff Association’s pandemic committee, thinks Alberta will count more than 1,100 COVID-19 hospitalizations and ICU admissions in the low-200s at the crest of the third wave.

“In my view, we’ve got another three weeks to go before we hit the peak,” Gibney told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

“As long as we don’t get to somewhere around the 300 (ICU) mark, we’re not going to be in the so-called red zone.”

The “red zone” has been Kenney’s way of describing when Alberta runs out of beds to care for ICU patients. Having reduced about 30 per cent of non-urgent surgeries in the Edmonton zone, the province has ICU beds for 425 patients suffering from coronavirus or not.

On Tuesday, there were 169 Albertans with COVID-19 in ICUs, and a total of 737 COVID-19 patients in hospitals.

At the peak of Alberta’s second wave in December, total COVID-19 hospitalizations breached 900. The province already has broken its COVID-19 ICU record.

Forecasting is complicated math, Gibney said. Now that nearly 70 per cent of Alberta’s population 60 years and up has received at least one dose of vaccine, he noted hospital trends are changing: the average length of stay has gone down because younger people have fewer comorbidities; patients are being hospitalized a longer time after first being infected (two weeks for hospital patients, three weeks for ICU patients).

On the other hand, the province has done about two thirds of the testing it did the week before, but Alberta’s positivity rate has been higher than eight per cent for 11 days straight.

If both acute cases and the positivity rate came down, Gibney explained, it would likely mean infection rate is falling, as well.

“But the fact that the positivity rate is still high out there strongly suggests there’s a significant number of people who, for whatever reason, simply aren’t going for testing.”

The premier, too, cautioned against reading into the apparent plateau of daily new infections.

According to Kenney, about 0.78 per cent of recent COVID-19 cases have ended up in ICUs. At that rate, the province’s health officials are expecting around 250 COVID-19 ICU patients at the beginning of June.

“We can manage that – with great difficulty,” Kenney said Tuesday, telling reporters if COVID-19 ICU patients breached 300, more surgeries would have to be cancelled.

“Let’s pray for a miracle. Let’s hope that all of a sudden all these new cases… don’t end up in hospital – but the science tells us different.”

Given the situation, Gibney stressed the significance of the public continuing to follow public health orders and get vaccinated, which will enable the province to plan for reopening toward the end of June.

“There’s always this temptation to open up sooner than is advisable,” he commented.

“The answer there would be to make sure the positivity rate is ideally lower than five per cent. And at the same time, make sure the level of new cases is a manageable level.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson 

CALGARY — Premier Jason Kenney announced a new ad campaign to promote the COVID-19 vaccination campaign and experts say it aims to appeal to what Albertans want most – a return to normalcy.

Earlier this week, the premier unveiled a new advertising campaign with the chief goal of making sure residents of Alberta understand the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

“Albertans will begin to see ads like this one pop up on billboards in their social media feeds, over the next few days,” he said. “The message is as simple as it is powerful – your vaccine is your ticket back to normal life.”

The initiative, called Back to Normal, is expected to depict a number of aspects of daily life in Alberta that residents will be able to achieve once they are vaccinated.

The first ad features a soccer game, where children are out playing together, in close quarters. Families are also seen sitting together, enjoying the weather without a need for physical distancing or mask wearing.

Officials say the aim is to convince as many Albertans as possible, from all walks of life, to acquire their COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible.

“The campaign includes a variety of materials aimed at a wide range of audiences, helping both encourage them to get the vaccine and educating them on the clear health benefits of getting the shot,” said Tom McMillan, assistant director of communications with Alberta Health in an email to CTV News.

CHANGING THE MESSAGE

The province’s new ad campaign is a big change from the earlier messaging health officials were attempting to convey earlier in the pandemic, says AnneMarie Dorland, associate professor of marketing at Calgary’s Mount Royal University.

“It’s shifting the discussion away from protecting those most vulnerable to getting back to what we want,” she said in an interview with CTV News Thursday.

“It’s very much focused on the ‘best summer ever.'”

The entire scene is also framed inside a hypodermic needle, which Dorland calls a “powerful image.”

“It’s a very visually interesting ad,” she said. “This is very much an ad of integrating children into the campaign.”

However, while the ad is still in its early stages, she says it doesn’t provide answers for some of the most pressing questions Albertans have at the present moment.

“There’s still a lot of Albertans with kids who are wondering about access (to vaccines),” she said. “Lots of questions about the flow of vaccines to Alberta.”

Dorland says she’d also like to see more information in the campaign informing Albertans what shot to get and when other groups, such as children under 12 years old, will be able to get their vaccines.

“This is the first kick at it,” she said. “It’s tricky to execute a shift in communication.”

Kenney said as the ad campaign prompts more Albertans to seek vaccination, the province’s capacity to administer vaccines will be there to accommodate them.

“I’m asking everyone to book their dose as soon as possible, take the first appointment you can get. And to keep trucking with pharmacies or AHS through their website or by calling 811. Because more appointments will open up as the supply is confirmed and we are looking to receive about a million doses over the next three weeks.”

The province says more ads will be released in the coming days.