Immunocompromised Albertans eligible for 4th COVID-19 vaccine dose
More than 80,000 immunocompromised Albertans can soon receive a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose.
Albertans 18 years and older with an immunocompromising condition can receive another booster shot five months after their third dose.
Appointments start on Thursday.
"Providing a fourth dose to these individuals is equivalent to a third dose for others," said Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta's chief medical officer of health.
"This will not only help prevent some breakthrough infections that we've been seeing, but also decrease the chance that people with immune-compromising conditions could have severe outcomes from COVID-19."
Fourth doses have not been approved for minors who have immunocompromising conditions, the province said, but they are eligible for third doses.
TUESDAY DATA
There are 1,089 Albertans with COVID-19 in hospital as of Tuesday, including 104 in intensive care.
Nine more Albertans have died due to the disease, increasing the province's death toll to 3,412. The deaths were in individuals ranging in age from in their 60s to more than 80 years years old.
"The bottom line is that our acute care system remains under serious pressure and COVID-19 continues to pose a risk of severe outcomes to many Albertans," Hinshaw said.
"This rise will continue to put pressure on our health system and the health-care workers who take care of us."
The province also reported 3,279 new COVID-19 cases after 8,995 PCR tests, increasing known active infections to more than 70,000.
Alberta Health will next update its data on Wednesday.
OTHER COVID-19 RELATED NEWS
Alberta expects to receive its first limited supply of Paxlovid by the end of the week. Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral treatment was the first oral at-home prescription medication to be cleared for use in Canada on Monday.
Alberta Health Minister Jason Copping has tested positive for COVID-19 and is now isolating with self-described mild symptoms.
Some Edmonton-area schools have moved classes online because of COVID-19 staffing pressures.
A petition asking the University of Lethbridge to make a formal decision about whether classes will be offered online or in person has been signed more than 1,300 times.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.