It appears the demand for first doses has slowed in Alberta. According to Premier Jason Kenney, there are only about 100,000 bookings over the next seven days.
He says we need about 115,000 more people to make an appointment this week to get us to that next level of reopening. Kenney says we’re getting to the critical point now where everyone who gets the first dose is going to be able to accelerate the full openness of Alberta.
More than 66 per cent of the eligible population has at least one dose of a COVID vaccine. That number needs to be at 70 per cent before Stage 3, and the last stage in the Open for Summer Plan, is triggered.
Kenney also took the opportunity on Monday to publicly apologize for hosting a dinner last week that violated COVID-19 health restrictions. He says the dinner on the balcony of the Sky Palace last Tuesday night was set up with distancing in mind but he admits that at some points, not everyone was far enough apart.
Kenney says he’s tried to follow the rules over the past 16 months but has been within two metres of others on several occasions, adding every Albertan likely has. He says he hopes to learn from this mistake and won’t be holding any gatherings until Alberta gets into Stage 3.
