News Release

More physician clinics to offer vaccines

Another 60 physician clinics will soon begin vaccinating patients as Alberta’s vaccine rollout continues to expand.

In April, a total of 20 physician clinics across the province participated in a pilot project to administer COVID-19 vaccines to eligible patients. Based on the learnings from these initial clinics, 60 additional clinics throughout the province will join the vaccine rollout in the coming weeks.

More than 2.6 million doses of vaccine have now been administered in Alberta through Alberta Health Services (AHS), participating pharmacies and physician clinics.

“We are excited to soon expand the rollout to include additional community physicians across the province. We will work together to vaccinate more Albertans and protect their patients. We know that physicians are a trusted health-care provider and this will help reach many people who are eagerly waiting for their chance to get the vaccine.”Tyler Shandro, Minister of Health

“I appreciate all the hard work that has gone into getting the vaccine into community clinics. Our community physicians are a trusted source of information and are uniquely positioned to help patients understand the benefits of vaccination. I am confident that their expertise will help reach patients that might not otherwise seek to be vaccinated and will add significant capacity to the vaccination effort.”Dr. Paul Boucher, president, Alberta Medical Association

“We’re delighted that many more Albertans now have the option of going to their trusted family doctor to discuss COVID-19 vaccination and potentially receive the vaccine in their local clinic. Family physicians have a unique and critical role to play in helping to educate patients and address vaccine hesitancy.”Dr. Ernst Greyvenstein, PCN physician lead, Calgary Zone

Since the spring, Alberta Health, the Alberta Medical Association and Primary Care Network (PCN) physician leaders have been working together to incorporate community physicians into the provincial vaccine rollout as supply increases.

Each participating clinic will contact their patients who are eligible for vaccination. Participating clinics will offer the Moderna vaccine at this time, with about 8,200 doses expected to be administered by family physicians, staff and teams.

Alberta’s COVID-19 vaccine program will look to expand the number of participating clinics as the vaccine supply increases.

Alberta’s government is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by protecting lives and livelihoods with precise measures to bend the curve, sustain small businesses and protect Alberta’s health-care system.

Quick facts

New billing codes have been added to the schedule of medical benefits to allow physicians to bill for this service. The information can be found on the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan Bulletins page.
At this time, participating clinics will contact patients and handle appointment bookings directly.