Some Albertans struggled to book COVID-19 shots as the province's fall immunization campaign opened to the public on Monday.
By late afternoon, HealthLink had received more than 10,000 calls related to the COVID-19 vaccine alone, and a spokesperson for the City of Alberta Primary Care acknowledged that the province's health information phone line was experiencing significant call volume.
Appointments for the first phase of the state's coronavirus vaccination program, which offers free shots to some high-risk groups, began on September 29. These groups include people with underlying health conditions, people living in care homes, health-care workers, seniors receiving the Alberta Seniors Benefit and people experiencing homelessness.
The second phase of offering COVID-19 vaccines to all other Albertans over the age of six months for a $100 fee began Monday. Influenza vaccinations also remain free and available to the general public.
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"I feel completely confused," said Elizabeth Smythe, a senior living in Edmonton.
Already frustrated that not all seniors were included in the high-risk groups eligible for publicly funded COVID-19 vaccinations, she tried to book a vaccine through the state's online portal as soon as she became eligible on Monday.
But she couldn't find an open appointment. So she called Health Link and after waiting for a call, she got a message saying no one could help her and the phone hung up.
"Why would you want to make it harder for me to get vaccinated? This is a smart, cost-effective way to protect our health care system and keep people like me healthy," Smythe said.
Airdrie mother Sirena Raymond Fortu also ran into trouble when she tried to book a reservation for herself and her 4-year-old child first thing Monday morning.
Appointments for children under 12 cannot be booked online and must be booked through HealthLink, according to the state government's website.
However, Raymond Forteau made several phone calls to no avail.
"I think they're making this a barrier to getting vaccinated. I don't think they're making it a priority," she said.
She is particularly concerned that parents are having trouble getting reservations for their children, and believes they should have done so sooner.
"It's hard having to wait. It's hard to understand that we have to pay. And it's frustrating that they didn't anticipate the surge in calls and didn't plan for this," she said.
In a statement emailed to CBC News, Alberta Primary Care province said in a statement emailed to CBC News that the fall immunization campaign and bird flu.
As of noon Monday, HealthLink had received the following information 10,346 There were 1,458 calls regarding the COVID-19 vaccination and 1,458 calls regarding the influenza vaccine.
"Albertans are encouraged to call back later or book their fall vaccination appointment online. primarycarealberta.ca/immunize'' said spokeswoman Nicole Merrifield.
"HealthLink has called up all available staff and extended their hours to increase our ability to serve Albertans. Expanded staff coverage is planned for the remainder of this week and will continue as needed."
Merrifield said calls will take longer as families book more appointments at this stage of the rollout. She said group reservations will no longer be available online and must be booked individually.
Merrifield didn't realize there was a problem with the online reservation system beyond volume.
"Alberta Primary Care continues to add appointments at our busiest public health clinics to meet demand for vaccination appointments," she said.
"We continue to monitor activity and will make adjustments to staffing at both HealthLink 811 and public health clinics where possible."
Meanwhile, Raymond Forteau said he's happy to hear that thousands of Albertans are calling and trying to make reservations.
"I think this speaks to Albertans as a whole. We want to show the government that we care about vaccination and that this needs to be prioritized. [and] Barriers such as cost should be removed, she said.
"Making the process of just booking a vaccine difficult just adds another layer."