In follow-up to the Premier’s announcement on Saturday, April 10 that health care workers are now eligible to book appointments for immunization starting April 12, please find below and attached some additional details on how eligibility may be confirmed at the time of appointment.
An important aspect in this phase is that to be eligible, all health care workers must be providing in-person, direct patient care. Staff who support them and also have in-person contact with patients/clients are also eligible. All eligible workers are encouraged to book their appointments as soon as possible.
Some health care workers will have questions about which vaccine they will receive. All health care workers in this phase are eligible for Moderna or Pfizer. Like all Albertans health care workers between the ages of 55-64, also have the option to book an appointment for AstraZeneca.
- Alberta Health Services (AHS) is only offering the AstraZeneca vaccine at the Telus Convention Centre in Calgary or the Edmonton Expo Centre. All other AHS sites are offering Pfizer or Moderna.
- Information regarding which pharmacies are offering AstraZeneca, Moderna or Pfizer, is available on the Alberta Blue Cross website here.
For clarity, health care workers can arrange their appointments immediately on-line or by phone. At their appointment they will need to provide both of the following:
- Personal identification that contains a birth date. For example, Alberta Health Care Card, Driver’s License or passport. (This is required at all immunization appointments for any Albertan); AND
- Proof of eligibility for this phase
Proof of eligibility may be any one of the following:
- Practice Permit from a regulatory college – hard copy or digital copy accessed online or photographed and displayed on your smart phone.
- Employee ID that can be confirmed as current.
- Letter of employment from your employer (see template attached)
- Letter of placement from your training institution or regulatory college (see template attached)
- If a health care worker is self-employed and one of the above options is not available to them, they may show their practitioner or business license from a municipality.
Note: Health care workers who provide a letter of employment for support staff who have in person contact with patients/clients should use the attached template letter.
Template for employers:
- The template is purposefully generic to accommodate all of the occupational groups which require proof of eligibility.
- It can be modified to suit an organization’s need (i.e., letterhead) but should clearly identify the organization, the employee’s name and job and be signed by the employer.
- It can be used for both employees and students who are currently in practicum placements. Students not in placements are not eligible at this time. They will be eligible when they are entering into a placement, or through a future phase of the COVID-19 Immunization Program.
Other resources:
- Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccine webpage
- Q & A for Health Care Workers
- One pager overview of the COVID-19 Immunization Program (see attached)