How does Alberta's COVID-19 vaccination rate compare to other provinces? We asked
CBC
Alberta's declining COVID-19 vaccination rate is sparking more concern as it becomes clear how uptake in the province compares to other parts of the country.
Publicly available data shows 6.8 per cent of all Albertans have received a COVID shot so far this respiratory virus season.
That’s down from the 2024-25 season when total uptake dropped to 14 per cent from 17 per cent the year before.
"The current vaccine rate, I think, is disappointingly low,” said Craig Jenne, a professor in the department of microbiology, immunology and infectious diseases at the University of Calgary.
"This virus continues to be dangerous … And we have an important tool that is simply not being used.”
CBC News wanted to understand how Alberta’s COVID immunization rate for this season compares to the rest of Canada so we reached out to all the provinces.
Of the six provinces that responded, British Columbia had the highest COVID-19 uptake, reporting that 18 per cent of its residents have received a COVID shot since the start of its fall immunization campaign.
Quebec, the only other province that has opted to charge for the vaccine, provided information indicating that, of the provinces sharing data, it has the lowest rate outside of Alberta at 11.5 per cent.
At 6.8 per cent, Alberta’s vaccine uptake is lower.
"It's disturbing,” said Dawn Bowdish, a professor of immunology at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
Bowdish argues charging for the COVID-19 shot sends the wrong message to the public.
Provinces that opt to do so, she said, are adding barriers to vaccination and face challenges with uptake as a result.
“In our social, single-payer health system in Canada people really believe if it’s important the government will pay for it. And when it’s not important the government doesn’t pay for it,” said Bowdish.
"There's no doubt that the more difficult that you make a vaccine [to get] the less people that take you up on that offer to get a vaccine."
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