CALGARY -- Alberta will receive 3,900 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine next week, an Alberta government official confirmed to CTV News on Monday.
Because each vaccine requires two separate doses, the 3,900 will be enough to immunize close to 2,000 people.
The number of doses earmarked for Alberta was up from the 1,000 that the province was initially told to expect.
The government did not say how many more doses would be sent to Alberta throughout the rest of December, 2020, but promised it would be ready to receive them.
Two distribution sites will be set up in Alberta: one in Calgary and one in Edmonton, where the vaccines will need to be administered because of the challenges posed by the need for one of the vaccines to be stored at -70 degrees.
"What we know is that the vaccine that's delivered in these first shipments must be given to people at the same site that the delivery happens at," said Alberta's chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw at her afternoon press briefing. "We are looking at the healthcare workers in shortest supply and where there is the greatest pressure on the system to make those people eligible for first doses."
First 249K vaccine doses arriving early: Trudeau
The announcement came after Prime Minister Trudeau announced earlier that day that several hundred thousand doses would begin being distributed as early as the following week to 14 distribution points across Canada.
The prime minister said the administration of vaccines once on Canadian soil will happen quickly.
“This will move us forward on our whole timeline of vaccine rollout, and is a positive development in getting Canadians protected as soon as possible,” said Trudeau.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization is recommending that residents and staff of long-term care, assisted living and similar facilities; individuals aged 80 years and older; health-care and personal support workers with the highest exposure risk; and Indigenous communities get first access to vaccines.
"Let us remember at the beginning there will be smaller amounts of vaccines, because we are both standing up our delivery mechanisms, but also because manufacturers are limited in what they're able to produce for this vaccine,” said Trudeau. “The large mass-manufacturing will be happening into 2021, but with these 249,000 doses coming in December, we will be able to begin on the most vulnerable populations and make sure that we have the logistical grounding foundation in place to be able to deliver right across the country over the first months of 2021.”
Hinshaw, announced 1,735 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province Monday, with 16 deaths. The province conducted 20,358 tests over the past 24 hours, with a positive test rate of 8.52 per cent.
There are now 20,067 active cases in Alberta.
With files from Rachel Aiello, CTV News
