In a classic Friday afternoon bad-news dump, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s United Conservative Party Government announced a scheme to make seniors pay “the full costs” for restricted supplies of COVID-19 vaccines.
When the UCP’s RFK-Jr.-inspired policy is implemented in mid-August, it will be easier to get ripped on legal marijuana in this province than it will be to find a life-saving shot of COVID vaccine.
It will probably be cheaper, too. We don’t yet know what the government intends to charge for the jab. What the market will bear, presumably, if they stick to their hard-right ideology. The government’s press release hints it could be as much as $110 per dose. In the United States, long obviously Premier Smith’s model for health care policy, covid vaccinations can cost $200 US or more, plus administration fees.
The Friday the 13th news release from the office of Adriana LaGrange, who now bears the Orwellian title of Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services, is headlined “a new approach to COVID-19 immunizations.”
Actually, it’s not that new. As a right-wing radio talk show host, Premier Smith was a determined vaccine skeptic and quack COVID cure enthusiast long before she returned to politics with the support of UCP extremists who objected to former premier Jason Kenney’s half-hearted commitment to pandemic public health. Indeed, her over-the-top enthusiasm may have been what led to her being pushed out of her job at CHQR in Calgary in 2021.
In addition, a deeply flawed paper Ms. Smith had published the same year by the right-tilting School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary called for the introduction of health care user fees and co-pays, plus de-listing of services, precisely what we are seeing today. “Once people get used to the concept of paying out of pocket for more things themselves then we can change the conversation on health care,” she wrote.
Ms. LaGrange, of course, has been happy throughout her political career to implement both UCP premiers’ worst ideas as policy, and that has obviously not changed despite her recent demotion from health minister.
Even so, you would have thought the UCP strategic brain trust would have hesitated before announcing a policy like this in the midst of a province-wide measles epidemic in which reported cases have reached roughly 75 per cent of the number of reported cases in the entire United States!
But apparently not. Anything must seem better to the folks in the Premier’s Office than watching social media reels of Ms. Smith whining “you’re not being very respectful” while being lambasted by members of her own party’s rural base in Fort Macleod while trying to defend the government’s plan to permit a deeply unpopular open-pit coal mine on the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies.
UCP deep thinkers may have concluded the vaccine-suppression policy outlined in the announcement could win back some MAGA votes in the June 23 by-election in the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills by-election, where a candidate from the openly separatist Republican Party of Alberta is breathing down the UCP standard-bearer’s neck.
As the news release also makes clear, the government is trying to blame Ottawa’s post-pandemic vaccine procurement policy for the plan to dump the cost of COVID immunization on seniors and other Alberta residents. If the feds won’t pay, the province certainly isn’t going to, notwithstanding its jealously guarded jurisdiction over health care.
The release also quotes Ms. LaGrange pointing to the high number of unused doses of COVID vaccine in Alberta – a direct result of the UCP Government’s own efforts to suppress demand for the vaccine.
“By shifting to a targeted approach and introducing pre-ordering, we aim to better align supply with demand – ensuring we remain fiscally responsible while continuing to protect those at highest risk,” she said. She didn’t add, but might as well have, that the rest of you are on your own, and that the measures announced are designed to reduce demand even more.
Remember, this is a government whose idea of fiscal responsibility is spending $70 million on unusable kids’ pain medication from Turkey just to own the Libs in Ottawa.
The news release also cites the controversial recent decision by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., probably the world’s most prominent anti-vaxxer, to stop recommending COVID immunization for pregnant women and healthy children south of the Medicine Line. This too is on-brand for the UCP.
Today’s release says Alberta will provide COVID vaccines free of charge to residents of supportive living facilities, those on social programs, and those with underlying medical conditions.
The rest of us will be required “to cover the full costs of the vaccine,” a phrase repeated in the release. Moreover, vaccines will be made harder to get. First, they will no longer be administered by community pharmacies, a system that has worked well to make immunization accessible.
Instead, they will only be available through public health clinics – fewer, hard to find, inconvenient to get to, and likely to require long waits for appointments.
Then, starting on Aug. 11, Albertans will need “to signal their intent to receive the COVID-19 and influenza vaccines by pre-ordering through the Alberta Vaccine Booking System. Following the pre-order, Albertans will receive a reminder notification via text message or email prompting them to book their immunization appointment in early October.”
The system, clearly, is intended to discourage vaccine use. This, needless to say, is nuts. But this is Danielle Smith’s Alberta. Some Albertans will die as a result.
Good thing the UCP has reduced all the wasteful Red-Tape associated with vaccinations
Sarcasm by the way
Never did consider Smith the brightest Albertan but I’d have to change that now to “bad shit crazy”. Charging seniors $100 to $200 for a COVID shot. Oh that will work very nicely. Has she explained where people will get that kind of money. So we will have a whole lot more unvaccinated people in Alberta and they will be the most vunerable due to health issues and age. So what does Smith plan to do when all these seniors become ill and go to the hospitals. Has she factored in how expensive it is to have some in a COVID ward. Some people may remember their parents died because of her decisions. Now if she decides to not vaccinate children, that could be very ugly. Lots of families live pay cheque to pay cheque. If she and hers make this a deliberate decision and a lot of people die wonder if she could be charged with negligence causing death.
Its hard to believe a Premier in Canada is pulling this type of stunt but here we are. The American leader wants to be a dictator and the Premier of Alberta wants to be the Death Idiot. Of course if a lot of seniors die the province won’t have to pay pensions.
Disaster Capitalism thrives on death and destruction.
I think the plan is to have a whole lot less older people who need support and this is the way to go about that.
Hi e.a.f. I don’t believe that the term negligence is correct. I believe either “wilful neglect” or “reckless endangerment” would be closer.
Bear in mind that many seniors who get vaccinated take the vaccine twice a year. This is because immunity wanes in people over 60. Plus many seniors have health conditions that complicate immunity, even if they are living independently and not in care. Some have a partner in care, but now they will be left to their own devices. If they can’t afford to vaccinate due to the cost of a partner’s care, can we expect Covid infections to rise in care settings as visitors are more likely to bring it in?
It seems Covid will finally crash the health system, which the UCP will be delighted to use as the final excuse to privatize all health care in Alberta. This is the nail in the coffin.
She wants all seniors dead , then they’re off the bill
How much do these Covid-19 vaccines cost? I doubt they are cheap. Besides that, this is an example of how the UCP is a proponent of private for profit healthcare.
I have heard many commenters refer to Marlaina and the UCP as a death cult, but wasn’t quite sure what that meant. LaGrange made it perfectly clear. They could not care less if some poor people die.
PS: Indeed, as is often said about Ms. Smith’s hero, Donald Trump, the cruelty is the point. “Losers” paying the ultimate price or just being immiserated reinforces the self perception of Ms. Smith’s real friends that they are the winners. I think this is called a positive reinforcement loop. DJC
I wonder if Smith & LaGrange are fans of Alistair Sim. From Scrooge (1951):
“If they be like to die, they’d best do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Of course they did.
Right in the middle of a news cycle that had far more important events to cover–the UCP dumps this nonsense hoping to garner some attention from their base and manufacture some outrage from the opposition.
(Yes, DJC this is your beat so you’re obliged to cover it even when you know it’s childish, attention-seeking behaviour.)
Jaysus, can the narcissists just STOP already?
Adriana LaGrange is living up to her title as Minister of PP Health Services, but we all know who’s really behind this.
“Rest assured you will never use a credit card to pay for a public health-care service. You will only ever need your Alberta health-care card,” Danielle Smith said in April 2023. You can bet she’ll want cold, hard cash.
She also said she wouldn’t delist any future medical procedures or prescriptions.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/edmonton/article/alberta-premier-commits-to-medicare-ndp-points-to-past-musings-on-private-options/
Danielle Smith accused the NDP of lying then. Turns out she’s the lying liar who lies. For everyone who believed her lies, congratulations. You got what you wanted but it’s bad news for you, too. Diseases don’t care who they infect and unless you’re very rich, American-style health care can bankrupt you.
Smith and her “Public Health Care Guarantee” are exactly what the NDP said they were.
https://youtu.be/HKfxLHmxq4Y?si=rS4jgOfZr4GpIWtw
A stupider decision is hard to imagine. Words fail.
In the CBC article reporting this story, the government claims they are motivated by reducing waste, and claimed that only about half of the Covid shots they ordered for the 2023-24 season were used. For whatever reason they did not cite the data from 2024-25 season.
You really have to wonder how so much vaccine got wasted in 2023-24. Actuaries have a lot of skill predicting demand for vaccines, especially since data from previous years were available. My guess is the demand was predicted based on the assumption there would be the same vaccine promotion that had been in place in previous years, then that year the government did not follow through with the promotion, like DJC said.
If this really is just about minimizing waste, the pre-registration part of the announcement should take care of the problem.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/alberta-charging-for-covid-shots-1.7561338
Too bad there’s no vaccine for stupid. Oh wait…it wouldn’t help; they’re too stupid to get it.
Wonder what the UCP has against pharmacists. This is going to cut into their income in a significant way. Especially if the UCP decides to start charging people for flu shots as well – only available through a government clinic.
As for why Danielle left QR, let me explain. (I have friends in low places, otherwise known as Corus HQ.) Dani’s daily musings on ivermectin, MAGA, etc turned off both listeners and – more importantly – advertisers. She refused to toe the line, despite numerous warnings. Her contract was coming up for renewal. She walked into negotiations demanding a raise because she thought she was doing an amazing job. No one could do it better! The Corus folk laughed. She was allowed to remain on the air for the last month of her contract and spin her departure as a way to protect her sensitive nature from attacks by online bullies. Corus VP’s were concerned that if they booted her, the anti-vax conspiracy theory gang would storm the Calgary station. So she wasn’t fired. Her contract was not renewed due to performance issues.
HH: This sounds plausible and is very similar to what I have heard, but for the pat about the raise. In addition, the evidence of her behaviour on the air and her narrative afterward, while circumstantial, is consistent with the conclusions. DJC
Hello HH. Pharmacists might be less upset about this than you believe. I recall hearing that the UCP government had cut the fee the paid pharmacists for administering vaccines. The lower rate was so low, I heard, that pharmacists LOST money on every jab. I can’t cite a source, though.
Smith’s supporters are fine with this as long as it hurts the people they hate more than themselves. Will this move the needle on Smith leading in the polls? Probably not.
As the threat of the Republican Party of Alberta splitting her vote increases across the province, her policies will become more extreme.
As an aside, Alberta, along with little brother Saskatchewan have decided to start buying American again. Apparently, Alberta is being strategic according to the Red Tape Minister.
Does “being strategic” mean “sucking up to Trump”? Just askin’….
Marlaina is setting the stage for another Covid pandemic, but only in Alberta. There’ll be blood on her hands before it’s over, but she won’t care as long as her vapid ideology wins out. She and her ventriloquist dummy, LaGrange, are complaining that 54% of the covid vaccine supply was wasted last year. Could that have been due to Dear Leader’s hyping of conspiracy theories and anti-vaxx bullshit? The sheeple fell for it. Now making the vaccine both expensive and harder to access will mean even fewer Albertans will get it. Social Darwinism at its finest. If you can’t afford $500+ for your family of five to get vaccinated, then you’re not rich enough to deserve to live. Marlaina’s new dictum and the inevitable covid surge will cull the herd of ne’er-do-wells. At any rate, she’s OK Jack and that’s all that really matters.
First she allowed hospitals to drop the mask requirements – stupid to say the least.
Now, she will charge for vaccines, so only rich people will be safer. I fully expect that eventually she will make masks illegal to wear in public.
I think she won’t be happy until she kills everyone in Alberta. At which point will Albertans say, “enough”?
How very strange. Danni’s base is 50 yrs. of age or more. These are one of the same cohorts strongly recommended to get vaccinated as their immune system is generally weaker. Is Danni trying to ensure her base has an earlier demise. What has she got against old gits like myself ? I might add, uncommonly, I am no right wing sympatico though.
Dixie Dani finds cutting senior’s benefits easy because *ahem*, us old boomers stopped falling for the “sky is falling” bullsh*t Barbie manipulation routine–a couple decades ago. We’ve all been through the “elect so-and-so so your life will suck tailpipes/fart rainbows” drama a few times already.
So we just read the platforms, listen to the candidates, know most of them are not what we’d prefer and just try to pick the one that comes closest to what we can live with and won’t have to overthrow in a violent revolution before their four years are up…then wander off to nap.
We’re just less pliable and more crunchy, I guess.
This is bullshit, life saving access to healthcare is a right in this country, not a privilege, and certainly not one tied to income. Where is the federal government ?
To be honest Scott Moe and Dani are perfect bedfellows right now, one refusing to call in the feds while his province burns down around him, the other burning down the public health care system (the bulk of which is funded by the federal government) I guess the lesson is if we don’t have a reactionary ideological hatred of everything east of Winnipeg then we can just go die. These people aren’t even worthy of being called scum. There’s more dignified filth on the bottom of my shoes. They should be pelted with rotten cabbages in the town square while Dani whinges that we aren’t “being respectful”. Trashcan Crackpot with delusions of grandeur and open worship of the Stars and Stripes; makes Bible Bill look like a true Canadian patriot. Hate really isn’t a strong enough word for the level of disregard I hold for this idiot and her team of sycophantic kleptocrats.
Little Bird: the UCP are narcissists at best. But the real failures, as in Orban’s Hungry, are the cowardly and self-regarding lawyers, public health doctors, Judges, and senior civil servants who have consistently said nothing while sucking at the Alberta teat, and then made some pro-forma statements from the security of their retirements. With some notable exceptions, they are the ones who act as if democracy means an elected dictator, and then lament when they have enabled just that.
But, as you say, the Feds could stop this in an instant if they simply refused to supply funds unless Alberta actually respects Medicare and its principles. The UCP has moved from a delusional Cargo Cult to a death cult.
Here’s an illustrative tidbit: the government’s press release doesn’t cite Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), or the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). Instead it erroneously references the “Federal Drug Administration” in the Benighted States.
In fact the FDA is correctly called the Food and Drug Administration, and besides that, vaccine guidance in that country issues from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) … although that is all changing too as a result of that anti-vaxx nutter RFK Jr. having been appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Anyway, their antipathy towards the Government of Canada is so deep that they even refuse to follow made-in-Canada guidelines on health measures.
Now c’mon, guys, maybe we’re being too hard on poor Danielle. I’m sure—pretty sure—she doesn’t WANT to kill off old, sickly Albertans to save money. I’m sure Danielle would say she LOVES old people! After all, she’s gonna pay for Covid shots for those in “supportive living facilities,” right? Well, there you go!
No, I think this is Danielle’s way—or maybe Miz Adriana’s way, I dunno—of making sure those lazy public servants in the public clinics keep busy, darn them! Make ‘em earn their paychecks, amirite?
And anyway, poor Danielle and her good friend Adriana have to find ways to save taxpayers’ hard-earned dollars. Making some of us cheapskate Albertans pay for that no-good, useless “vaccine” ourselves will free up tax dollars to pay the hard-working, dedicated, civic-minded good CEOs and VPs (and assistant VPs and executive secretaries and advisors and coordinators) who are now running the brand-new corporations that replaced Alberta Health. Four, isn’t it? Or five? I forget.
Well, you see how it works. When you’re leading the unwashed masses toward Utopia (or Alabama North, whichever) you have to make some sacrifices. And if a few people die ‘cause they’re too cheap to take out a loan for vaccines, well…(shrug). Making an omelette is always hard on a few eggs.
Right, Danielle?
When one is primarily accountable to the powerful and the privileged, that is the audience that is served. Not doing so means a short political career and an outlook beyond politics that does not involve lucrative corporate positions and/or contracts. That much is trivially unambiguous.
Further, it is assumed that the deaths from either COVID-19 or influenza are seen as an inconsequential cost of maintaining ideological purity; which of course, is the higher value for both the leader and party apparatchiks.
Noting the following:
https://www.alberta.ca/stats/dashboard/respiratory-virus-dashboard.htm?data=summary#summary
Hi tumbleweed, thanks for the link. I honestly believed Danielle “free choice to die” and Adriana “vaccines are evil” wouldn’t let the remnants of AHS publish these stats. Although I notice the Covid numbers are at the bottom of the document, with RSV stuck in between. And what, exactly is the “technical difficulty” that prevented them from posting data for 25 May, 1 June and 8 June?
Dare I suggest that the “technical difficulty” is a frighteningly large spike in flu cases? If so, the next update will show a dramatic drop from the peak Smith et al hope nobody will notice.
Unbelievable! When Covid starts sending people to hospital, think of the cost. There are so many people trying to make ends meet and now another added cost. You know that this extra cost will have people not getting the Covid vaccine.
Why do Albertans keep electing blindly? Alberta is becoming the fool province with leadership like this.
The wave of protests already has Dani scared & desperate. Her solution? Let’s start killing off those pesky voters (especially the non-UCP ones). This is what your Premier thinks about Albertans. You are expendable & unworthy of her attention. And if you’re sharp enough to get your vaccine? Well, her misinformed cheerleaders will make herd immunity almost impossible. Time the Feds step in and demand accountability for Canadian tax dollars!
Covid is going to kill off the voters? I know those mRNA vaccines were great, which was tremendous relief after Pfizer and Moderna couldn’t make a single one work until the Drumpfster fired up Operation Warp Speed, but I never could figure out why so many people in Alberta with plenty o’ jabs kept ending up in the hospital or dying with positive Covid tests. The province posted “vaccine outcomes” every couple of days until July 11, 2022, when they removed that stat from their website. Curiously, it showed that 90.6% of the population had one dose, and 87.2% of the population had two doses, but 80% of those hospitalized with Covid were vaccinated. In fact, in that last data release, 50% of those hospitalized with Covid were thrice poked. The heathens made up 19.02 of the hospitalized Covid cases. 15% of deaths with a postive Covid test in the prior 120 days were unvaccinated, 63% of deaths had received three rounds of the sacrament. This page was removed by the gubment after 11 July, 2022. At that time 4600 deaths with Covid had been reported with a minimum of 1800 in long-term care. At least 40% of the deaths occurred in a population that makes up 2.2% of the total in the province. Interestingly, all those “Covid deaths” in long-term care only produced 1.18% increase in mortality in long-term care patients. The gubment likewise pulled the page that showed the prevalance of pre-existing conditions in severe outcomes with Covid. 73% of deceased had three or more significant pre-existing conditions. To even get a decent shot at dying with Covid one had to be trapped and isolated in long-term care, with hypertension and heart and kidney disease and either diabetes or COPD.
Nothing like a stroll down memory lane. Here’s a real puzzler: Haiti, arguably the most ill-treated of US foreign colonies, and Mississippi, the worst-treated of their domestic colonies, have many qualities in common. Haiti, however, had next to no vaccine uptake, perhaps 2% and no Covid whipsaw chopping down the population, despite an earthquake at the height of Covidmania. Mississippi, on the other hand, had the highest “Covid mortality” in the US, albeit with low vaccine uptake at 62%.
https://web.archive.org/web/20220630232741/https://www.alberta.ca/stats/covid-19-alberta-statistics.htm
What is hard to accept is that no matter how much we protest and try to open our neighbours’ eyes, the combination of very simple messages, a unified rightist media and the refined oratorical skills of Ms. Smith seem to be insurmountable. Perhaps Mr. Nenshi will rise to the occasion once he is elected. We can only hope.
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
Wasn’t it Jason Kenney who pointed out, when some people around the age of 83 died of covid, that life expectancy was 82. I suppose that Danielle Smith also thinks that people over the age of life expectancy are disposable. Danielle Smith truly is despicable.
I am worried that Danielle will start making the public pay for other important vaccines – measles, mumps and rubella, polio and so on. It may well be that paying for the covid vaccine is a first step towards individuals paying for all their vaccines. That is a truly frightening prospect, both individually and for public health. I had measles and other childhood diseases because the vaccines had not been developed at that time, and they were horrible as well as dangerous.
At one time, Smith and the UCP made a big deal about talking about the freedom to choose being vaccinated. Now their true colours are showing through, as they continue to do what they can to discourage and make getting vaccinated more difficult for those who want to.
They are actually all about controlling and limited peoples freedom and choices. This is what happens when people gain power under the guise of being libertarians but turn out to be something very different.
Perhaps this is all a part of Smith and the UCP’s ongoing efforts to try take attention from their their other big controversies such as their ongoing health care scandal and now coal mining in the eastern slopes. However, I feel the timing of this announcement shows even they are a bit embarrassed by their own actions here.
As has been pointed out in many comments on this thread, this will end up overloading the hospital system and costing taxpayers in the end. Not to mention the needless deaths and long-term illness for some Albertans, with support from long covid clinics no longer available. This is not about fiscal responsibility, rather ideology, ignorance and a morally corrupt government. One more reason for healthcare workers to leave Alberta behind.
Let’s look at the UCP performance since this past January, cut in dental benefits for those on AISH, claw back of Canada Disability Benefit for those on AISH, cut back on optical benefits for those with medical conditions – seniors and those on AISH, cut back on drug benefits for seniors, covid shots no longer free. Of course there was absolutely no consultation with any of the affected parties, just a simple slash. In spite of the so called health care guarantee lie from Smith, we now have to pay out of pocket for Covid Vaccinations, and for monitoring and treatment for things like glaucoma. But just remember for those who make under $60,000 per year you get a 2% cut in your income tax. So the UCP giveth and just as quickly taketh away!
Don’t worry, OA. There’s always an octogenarian ophthalmologist who can be convinced to come out of retirement to take care of your eye concerns/surgery needs, now that so many younger specialists are retiring/leaving. No, I’m not kidding. It’s Alberta.
The irony of Danielle Smith’s anti-vax agenda, by way of lack of support or utter destruction of public health programs and expertise, is that she is proving they work. Alberta’s measles epidemic already rivals that of the whole U.S. because of her steadfast refusal to have a mass campaign to control it. The vaccine works, period.
Withholding Covid shots from the public by making the vaccine inaccessible physically, and/or financially will certainly result in deaths as the virus is circulating perpetually i.e. endemic, in our communities. She clearly doesn’t care about that, but the feds might have something to say via the Canada Health Act and withhold health funding to Alberta. That scenario would probably appeal to her. More “ammo” against Ottawa, and strokes with her separatist base. Who happen to be antivaccination as well.
There also is the angle of pushing people towards more private health insurance. I’m sure more than a few insurance companies are licking their chops. And btw know any notorious insurance brokers, in Calgary perhaps?
Okay, so now that I’ve thought this through from the radical right-wing podcaster perspective (which really hurts my head, by the way)…
So, Dixie Dani, who, believes that the Global Elites are trying to de-populate the world (some say of white people, others, just generally) has removed a vaccine from the payment schedule that’s supposed to keep older people and fragile people alive so she can save up money for tax cuts to billionaires–a vaccine that was produced by the same Global Elites who are trying to profit from everything and sweep up said tax cuts?
Argh. I can’t keep up with the crazy anymore.
There’s a Albertan commenter over at the Tyee who is always posting about this David Gray character and the SCANDAL (he capitalizes it every post) that will finally bring down Smith and the UCP for good. For the sake of the province and its people we are waiting very patiently for this prediction to come true but I for one will not be holding my breath. If the polls are to be believed then it’s likely that a scandal, no matter the size and severity, has near zero chance to dethrone Smith and send her cronies packing. And this, my friends, is not the fault of the UCP but falls squarely on the shoulders of the Albertan rubes who continue to blindly support the corruption, misery and bullshit.
Geesh sounds like nobody is getting the Covid shot anymore except for a small group of hypochondriacs who need to get boosters every six minutes. Too many stories about bad reactions…no thanks. Alberta is falling in line with the rest of the world, making the vaccine harder to get except for high risk patients. A lot of the people I know got the jab and still got Covid. Go figure. Give me ivermectin any day.
A Petition has been started concerning this issue
https://www.change.org/p/stop-the-ucp-from-making-most-albertans-pay-for-the-covid-19-vaccine
My theory is that Smith and the UCP still hope to get their hands on our CPP, so the more senior citizens they can kill off at a younger age, the bigger the amount left in the pension fund for them to grab.
Yawn. Seniors and public sector workers have gold played benefits coverage that will cover most of the cost.
The further privatization of public health care, implemented incrementally so her base of medieval peasants don’t take notice of it.