All front-line health care workers should be included in Phase 1 and 2 COVID vaccinations

United Nurses of Alberta President Heather Smith has written to Health Minister Tyler Shandro asking the Alberta government to commit to ensuring that all front-line health care workers be included and prioritized in Alberta’s Phase 1 and 2 COVID-19 vaccine roll out.

Citing the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) Guidance on the prioritization of key populations for COVID-19 immunization, which recommends that all front-line health care workers who have direct close contact with patients be included in Stage 1 of a phased vaccine roll out, Smith asks why many front-line health care workers who are risking their lives to provide direct care in various clinical settings will not be vaccinated in Phase 1. 

It is critical that Alberta Health provide greater transparency on when these remaining front-line health care workers will be vaccinated and it is UNA's expectation that these workers will be vaccinated well before the general public roll out begins.