Unions representing health-care workers in Alberta and doctors who care for those who are gravely ill are calling on Premier Danielle Smith’s government to reverse course and provide free COVID-19 vaccines to all front-line workers and any other Albertan who wants the shot.

Late last Friday afternoon, the province announced almost all Albertans who want to continue to protect themselves from the COVID-19 virus will have to pay for the vaccine out of pocket for it.

“The way that we prevent people from coming into hospital is preventative medicine, which we’re absolutely not doing by de-restricting or causing people to have to pay for these things,” said Dr. Darren Markland, a nephrologist and intensive care physician at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton.

“The people who are most at risk or most marginalized are the ones who least can afford these vaccines.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "The people who are most at risk or most marginalized are the ones who least can afford these vaccines."

Smith said the new policy aims to prevent wastage, recover costs and protect those who need the vaccine most by giving it to them for free.

Speaking Saturday on her call-in radio show the morning after her government announced the move, Smith said $135 million got “flushed down the drain” last year with doses wasted in part because Albertans are increasingly choosing to not take them.

“I think it’s because it doesn’t work particularly well, if you want the truth,” Smith said.

Just under 14 per cent of Alberta’s 4.8 million residents got vaccinated for the virus last season.

“We believe in vaccine choice, but we don’t pay for everything,” Smith said.

Going forward, the vaccines will still be covered by the province for select groups of high-risk individuals such as seniors, people who live in congregate living, those with underlying medical conditions or are immunocompromised, and Albertans who require social support such as AISH or are homeless.

However, most Albertans, including health-care workers and seniors who live independently, will have to pay out of pocket.

2:18 Majority of Albertans to pay for COVID-19 vaccine

The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) called it a “politically motivated move.”

“This is an extremely dangerous policy that will increase health-care costs as well as stress on the health-care system,” said UNA president Heather Smith.

“The government’s claim that this is being done to save money and recover costs makes no sense from a moral or logical perspective. This policy is wrong for health-care workers and wrong for all Albertans.”

“Once again this government has completely ignored both the expertise and safety of health-care workers.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Once again this government has completely ignored both the expertise and safety of health-care workers."

In addition to adding a fee, in most cases, the COVID-19 vaccine will only be available through public health clinics and pharmacies will no longer be administering the vaccine.

While the province said work is underway to determine what the final cost will be per vaccine, it noted the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates a cost of $110 per vaccine dose.

In making the announcement on Friday, the government pointed out that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the United States — which is headed by longtime anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — recently stopped recommending routine COVID-19 vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children.

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada countered that COVID-19 vaccination “remains safe and strongly recommended” during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.

Alberta doctors say these days, this province should not be taking advice from any medical association based in the United States.

“We have ongoing disinformation from the Alberta government,” Markland said. “We have our health providers taking information from the FDA, which is under some pretty nefarious leadership right now.

“We have a very anti-science government. There’s a reason why people aren’t hearing about vaccines. We’re not doing our due diligence to get the word out that vaccines prevent sickness and keep you out of hospital.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We have a very anti-science government. There's a reason why people aren't hearing about vaccines. We're not doing our due diligence to get the word out that vaccines prevent sickness and keep you out of hospital."

The Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) said keeping the vaccine free for health-care workers is the best way to protect patients, reduce hospitalizations and keep the health-care system strong.

HSAA vice-president Leanne Alfaro said COVID-19 continues to put vulnerable Albertans at risk and vaccines remain the most effective tool for protecting both individuals and the broader health system.

She also said workers should not be expected to put themselves in harm’s way without basic protection.

“No one wants to see life-saving vaccines discarded unused,” Alfaro said in a statement on Monday.

“HSAA shares the government’s concern about reducing vaccine waste and ensuring public health dollars are spent wisely. However, we are very concerned this change will limit access to COVID-19 vaccines for many Albertans, especially frontline health care professionals who deserve to be protected.”

In January, the UCP government released a controversial report that called on the province to halt the use of the COVID-19 vaccine. 

The report was commissioned shortly after Smith swept to power in late 2022, promising to redress the COVID-19 grievances of her supporters.

However, critics lambasted the report calling it “a sad document — that lacks significant credibility.”

1:11 Alberta measles cases highest in 50 years

Alberta, which is grappling with a spike in measles cases not seen for several decades, is falling well short of the 95 per cent immunization rate experts say is needed to protect the population.

Markland fears with the recent resurgence in diseases previously eradicated, such as measles, other life-altering diseases like polio could also return to Alberta.

“It’s a highly infectious virus and to have polio come back is a legitimate possibility. Once you’re paralyzed, that’s it — you have polio. You are on a ventilator for the rest of your life.

“You wanna see things get real expensive? Try claiming long-term disability and ventilation services from the Alberta government.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "You wanna see things get real expensive? Try claiming long-term disability and ventilation services from the Alberta government."

The polio and measles vaccines are provided free of cost to Albertans as part of routine immunization.

The province said starting Aug. 11, eligible Albertans will be able to signal their intent to receive the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines by pre-ordering through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System.

“It is absolutely irresponsible to force health-care workers in both public and private workplaces to place orders in August and pay to receive a vaccine that is an essential component of workplace health and safety,” Smith said in a statement.

“This will drive even more health care workers out of Alberta.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "This will drive even more health care workers out of Alberta."

The UNA said its occupational health and safety and professional responsibility teams will be meeting and reporting on possible strategies to take action if the government doesn’t reverse course.

The HSAA is the trade union that represents 30,000 paramedical technical, professional and general support employees in the public and private health-care sectors of Alberta.

— More to come…

— With files from Lisa Johnson, The Canadian Press and Ken MacGillivray, Global News