HSAA believes that all workers in allied health and in corrections health who work in close proximity to confirmed COVID patients should be prioritized in the COVID vaccination rollout plan. While we’ve seen a number of our at-risk members already vaccinated, there are many more who also need access.
We recognize that current demand outstrips supply and are assuming that science is the driving factor in prioritization decisions. However, we are regularly hearing from our members that this may not be the case. For that reason, we have written to the Chief Medical Officer of Alberta, our Health Minister and our acting Minister of Municipal Affairs on your behalf. In addition, we are working with occupational health & safety bodies at the provincial and national levels to raise your concerns. We have also been very active in the media advocating for all of our members.
We are now marking the sad one-year anniversary of the first identified cases of COVID and have passed the 10-month mark of the first case in Alberta. We have all sacrificed so much and it is not an exaggeration to say that our members have acted heroically throughout. We agree that your risk needs to be recognized by authorities as we work to keep our front-line workers safe from infection.
In Solidarity,
Mike Parker,
HSAA President
Trudy Thomson,
HSAA Vice-President
