Alberta to launch new mobile vaccination clinic next week

EDMONTON -

A new mobile clinic will bring COVID-19 vaccinations to rural communities, hard-to-reach populations, and remote camps across Alberta where vaccine uptake is lower.

The mobile clinic will begin providing first and second COVID-19 vaccinations next week, followed by a tour to communities and workplaces across the province.

Alberta Health and Industry for Vaccination collaborated to create the mobile clinic in hopes to enhance vaccine uptake across the province, especially in some rural areas where data from the government of Alberta reflects lower vaccination rates.

“Alberta’s private sector has always supported our efforts to get as many Albertans vaccinated as possible,” said Health Minister Tyler Shandro in a release Thursday.

The clinic is the second of its kind in Canada, with the other mobile clinic having opened earlier this summer in Quebec.

James Puckrin, operating manager at ACESO Medical, says he is anticipating the clinic will be able to administer up to 300 doses a day.

“This will allow us to target rural communities with lower uptake or where vaccines aren’t readily accessible, as well as provide vaccinations at farms, plants, and work sites,” said Puckrin.

The province says the mobile clinic well help reduce the likelihood of variant outbreaks and provide a mobilization model for when Alberta shifts from a pandemic response into a likely seasonal campaign.

Currently 74.9 per cent of Alberta’s eligible population has been vaccinated with at least one dose while 60.7 per cent of Albertans have received their second dose.

Alberta’s new mobile vaccination clinic comes following Alberta Health Service’s announcement that it will be closing two of its largest COVID-19 immunization clinics by the end of July.