Critics says COVID shot rollout will be a disaster
By Lethbridge Herald on August 15, 2025.
Alexandra Noad
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
The rollout of this year’s COVID-19 vaccine is not only unconstitutional, but will also be putting frontline workers at risk, according to advocates of workers in the medical field.
On Monday the Government of Alberta announced that not only would people have to register for the vaccination by Sep. 30, it will also cost an estimated $110 out of pocket.
Chris Gallaway, executive director of Friends of Medicare, says this approach is the exact opposite of what one would want or expect from a public health organization.
“Every piece of the rollout is designed to pander to an anti-vaccine rhetoric to ensure that fewer and fewer people are getting the vaccines,” he says.
Only a portion of Albertans will have the cost of the vaccine covered. That portion doesn’t include health care workers or teachers, which Gallaway calls incredibly disrespectful.
Gil McGowan, president of Alberta Federation of Labour, is calling the rollout a vaccine suppression strategy which ensure that only those who can afford the shot will get it.
McGowan says he has sent a letter to Premier Danielle Smith strongly encouraging her to reconsider the strategy, as he believes it could ultimately overwhelm an already stressed health care system.
“I urged her in the strongest possible terms to reconsider her government’s approach to the COVID vaccine rollout, which we are convinced will create unnecessary and dangerous barriers to access…in the fall.”
In the letter he says the labour movement looks at the vaccine through the lens of workplace health and safety and that COVID isn’t just a common cold – the risk of infection increases with each reinfection.
The letter proposes three changes, including making the vaccine available to everyone. McGowan says the rollout as is goes against Smith’s “freedom of choice” commitment, since many Albertans will not have a choice due to the barrier of the cost.
The letter also asked for the vaccine be available to any Albertan who wants it because requiring recipients to pay for the vaccine will reduce uptake.
Gallaway also sees this charge as something that goes against the Canada Universal Healthcare act.
“Normalizing paying to access care, those who can afford to pay get the care, or get it quicker,” he says. “And everyone else is waiting longer-which is totally contradictory to the system we have built, the universal public system.”
The last thing the letter proposes is for the vaccine to be made available at pharmacies as it has been in the past.
McGowan says not making it available to pharmacies only makes sense if you want to supress uptake of the vaccine.
“The experience over the last few years has shown very clearly the quickest and most efficient way to get vaccines to Alberta is to utilize the vast network of pharmacies.”
While it’s not mentioned in the letter, McGowan sees having to register for the vaccine, especially with a deadline, as a barrier in itself.
“If the only people who are going to get the vaccine are those who pre-ordered, that’s clearly a suppression strategy too, because (the province) is not promoting it.”
A few days ago, the Herald posted a poll asking who would get the vaccine if it cost $100 out of pocket and 70 per cent of the voters indicated they would not receive the shot. That came to no surprise to both McGowan and Gallaway.
Gallaway says especially during the current affordability crisis, many people have to choose between protecting their health and putting food on their table, which shouldn’t be the case since we pay taxes for health care.
“We should be using our money to ensure the public is protected from disease, including COVID.”
McGowan sees not providing vaccinations to those who work in the public sector, including those who work in health care, in schools and those working in transit, is a violation of Occupational Health and Safety Code.
“Under Alberta’s (OHS) Code, all employers including the Government of Alberta, have an obligation to provide their employees with safe and healthy workplaces that are free of hazards.”
Both Gallaway and McGowan agree that the cost of dealing with COVID outbreaks will be far more than cost the government claims they lost from unused vaccines.
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