Some Alberta pharmacies are seeing a rush for residents to get the vaccines now that the province has implemented a vaccine passport system, although some of them are doing it begrudgingly.
Rod Hozack, pharmacist at the Pharmasave in Redcliff, Alta., said there has been a rush from people looking for both vaccinations and rapid tests.
“They’re begrudgingly getting vaccine,” Hozack said.
Starting on the weekend, requests for vaccinations and rapid tests picked up significantly, Hozack said, many in the wake of the province's announcement on Sept. 15.
Earlier this month the Alberta government announced a slew of new restrictions for businesses and public services, including capacity limits and requirements for social distancing, and a restriction exemption program which allows businesses to circumvent the restrictions if they ask for proof of vaccination before entering. Albertans are also able to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the past three days to enter the facilities.
As a result, vaccination rates and demand for rapid tests have increased in the province.
Hozack said in Redcliff requests for vaccines are around half of those made when the shots were first announced earlier this year.
Before then, Hozack said they were giving out vaccines two days a week. Now the pharmacy has switched to a full-time walk-in program, which gives out 40 to 50 vaccinations a day.
Redcliff vaccination rates are captured as part of the Cypress County region, which reports 59 per cent of residents with a first dose and 51.5 per cent of residents with both doses.
“Early in the vaccine world we're thankful and grateful and very happy to have the vaccine. I would say people are more resentful of having got the vaccine at this point, but they’re doing it,” Hozack said.
Across Alberta, rural communities are lagging behind in vaccination rates, with 70 per cent of the total population having received at least one dose, while 62.4 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
Alberta is also trailing most of Canada when it comes to vaccination rates, with Canadians at an overall rate of 75.25 per cent of first-dose vaccinations and 69.71 per cent fully vaccinated.
As a result of low vaccination rates and a summer of no restrictions, the province is facing an unprecedented fourth wave of the virus, with ICUs full and requests for federal help to care for Albertans.
In Olds, vaccination rates and rapid test requests have increased drastically since the announcement by the province.
Raj Tarpara, from the Olds Community Pharmacy, which opened in the community on July 12, said they had around four or five appointments per day in the community.
Now the pharmacy is distributing 25 to 30 doses per day.
“And mainly it's the first dose,” Tarpara said.
When the mask mandate was implemented, they saw a small uptick in requests, but the rush came after the restriction exemption program was introduced.
Most of the patients Tarpara sees are in good spirits when they come in to get their shots, and a couple times a day he has to calm the fears of some and explain that it is safe.
Rapid tests in the community have seen a drastic uptick as well, with Olds Community College requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to attend class in person.
Tarpara said they are running around 50 rapid tests per day, often on students, but others are getting the test to access public spaces or attend events, such as weddings and funerals, instead of opting to get the vaccination.
Some 57.7 per cent of Olds residents have one does of the vaccine, and 65.3 per cent have two doses.
In Wainwright, Sid Modi, pharmacy owner at the Wainwright Pharmacy, said they have seen a small increase in demand since the restriction program has been implemented, but they were expecting a much bigger rush for the shots.
“But people who have the mindset of not taking the vaccine, they have not really taken this as seriously and they still don't want to take it. They are against it, and they still feel that they should not,” Modi said.
Most of the patients he sees in the pharmacy on a regular basis are those with some form of chronic health condition and they have all been vaccinated since the beginning of the pandemic.
Modi said he is giving out around six to 12 doses a day, which is pretty comparable to before the restriction exemption program was introduced.
Rapid test requests have gone up, but Modi said they are generally from those who are fully vaccinated, and who are planning to travel or who need a negative test on top of proof of vaccination.
Vaccination rates in Wainwright are relatively high for rural Alberta, with 64.3 per cent of residents vaccinated with one dose and 56.7 per cent with their second dose.
The restriction exemption program has seen an increase in vaccinations across the province since it started. On Friday, the province announced there were 21,628 doses administered in the province, with 10,764 first doses.
Before the program was brought in, vaccinations in Alberta had plateaued, but on Sept. 18, 19 and 20, just days after the program was brought in, vaccination doses increased 113 per cent from the weekend before. In the three-day window Alberta gave out 59,009 doses, including 34,595 first doses.
