Health Minister Tyler Shandro provided an update for vaccine rollout this afternoon. Today, the AHS online booking tool experienced crashes after demand surged after the service opened today. 

"We have made it clear that money is not an issue in responding to the pandemic that we do have the expectation that this rollout would be smooth in the opportunity for almost a quarter million Albertans being able to log-in. We did have the expectation that many people would be trying to log-in in the very beginning with the anxiety that many Albertans feel including an age group that is determined to be vulnerable. I look forward to understanding from AHS the answer to my questions," said Shandro. 

The Health Minister noted that the launch of AHS’s online booking tool was overwhelmed by the volume people visiting the site.  He says the problem is currently being sorted out.

“The system can now handle about 5,000 bookings per hour. AHS has added network capacity, they’ve added staff to health link,” said Shandro.

Given just how many people are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, he says some people may come across delays in getting their shots.

“The fact it is that it is going to take time to reach everyone. We are getting a bit over 50,000 doses per week and we have 230,000 to cover at two doses a piece. It’s going to take about a month to get first doses to all these seniors,” said Shandro.

Vaccinations will be able to be administrated through participating pharmacies in Alberta.

“In this first stage, we anticipate there will be a total of 102 pharmacy partners in Edmonton, Calgary, and Red Deer to help immunize the large volume of folks who are 75 and over,” said Shandro.

More pharmacies are anticipated to be enrolled approximately in mid-March.

Regardless of the difficulties with booking a vaccination, they will still be administered as they become available in the province.

You can find the AHS online booking tool here.