Stop the Hogs!

Alberta’s Perverse New Barriers to COVID Vaccines

Andrew Nikiforuk - August 5, 2025 - The Tyee

The virus hits the old and poor hardest. The province is erecting hurdles to granting them protection.

EXCERPT: "Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s radical new rules for COVID immunization pose a genuine threat to the elderly, the working poor and pregnant moms.

Smith, who revived her ailing political career by peddling conspiratorial COVID theories, has designed a program that is not only punitive but discriminatory, bureaucratic and Soviet in nature.

“This policy is so bad that it’s actually worse than their usual failure to plan properly,” said James Talbot, the province’s former chief medical officer of health. “In fact, it is so bad it looks like they are actually planning to fail.”

Here are the three basic tenets of any successful public health program: make it available, make it accessible and make it affordable. Smith turns all three upside down. . . . . . "

[ https://thetyee.ca/Analysis/2025/08/05/ ... dium=email ]

Albertans can start pre-ordering paid COVID-19 shots after June policy shift

By The Canadian Press - Published: August 11, 2025

EXCERPT: "Albertans can begin pre-ordering COVID-19 shots for the fall after a recent policy shift. [ https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Topic/Immun ... tment.aspx ]

Those looking to get vaccinated will still need to book an appointment and most will have to pay more than $100 to get it.

Premier Danielle Smith’s government announced the policy shift in June. . . .

Public health experts have said the policy could introduce barriers to getting vaccinated and lead to higher costs for things such as hospitalizations and severe complications."

[ https://www.ctvnews.ca/calgary/article/ ... icy-shift/ ]