Concerned citizen, George Adams, expresses his frustration with the pandemic management in Alberta.
The Government of Alberta has made the decision to start its own version of the vaccine passport program, announced during a press event earlier this month, which left many Albertans confused and frustrated.
Details and clarification will remove the confusion for many as they become available, although Premier Jason Kenny caused more confusion with contradictions for some viewers.
“Family are all asking ‘what does this mean?’ I don’t have great answers for them as the government changes its mind often and leaves you in a sense of limbo and uncertainty creating a general feeling of anxiousness,” said George Adams.
George Adams, a technology professional in Lethbridge was forced to make the choice to lock down early and hard. He cares for his wife, Nikki, alongside his parents, Fred and Judy Adams, all of whom are medically compromised persons. “Things have permanently changed for me. Regardless of what others do I’ll still continue to follow some standard safety protocols that I’ve become accustomed to now.” Adams continues to wear a mask at all times while he is outside of his home or private office.
Premier Kenny failed to deliver when asked if he was going to apologize for the province’s response to the pandemic. He said, “I apologize for having embraced the shift from pandemic to endemic.”
After this apology, he surprisingly reversed his stance. “I don’t apologize for lifting public health restrictions for ‘open for summer.’” The “sorry, not sorry” was not enough for many Albertans.
“I don’t know how we’re supposed to take him seriously if he can’t give a straight answer about being sorry,” said Adams.
The impact from the sudden change in tone and direction from the provincial government is too little too late for some.
While it is too early to see if the vaccine passport will serve as the motivating factor for the 20 per cent of Albertans who have not received their first dose, there was a noticeable increase in walk-in vaccinations at Stubbs Pharmacy on 10 Avenue South in Lethbridge this week.
Stuart Poettcker is a student in the University of Alberta pharmacist program. He is currently gathering work experience in pharmacies as part of the fourth year in the program.
Since the pandemic began, he has administered over 500 doses of the AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. “I’ve been at this pharmacy for three weeks now. We usually have from one to three people ready for a walk-in appointment on Fridays. This week we had eight people lined up for their first dose. I hope it continues,” Poettcker remarked.
