ROB: I’m speaking with Dr. Jane Fowke from the Alpine Medical Clinic in Banff. We’re going to talk about vaccinations today. I know there have been some announcements from the Alberta government regarding the AstraZeneca vaccine this week. It sounds like anyone who’s eligible for that vaccine can basically go out and get it right now

DR. FOWKE: Yes, absolutely. There’s a walk-in clinic at Southport in Calgary, and there’s one at the TELUS Centre. Dr. Hinshaw was actually talking about AstraZeneca, saying that the benefits outweigh the risks. The Globe and Mail was saying, if you get COVID, the risk of getting a blood clot is 8 to 10 times higher. It’s 39 in a million chance of getting a blood clot. If you got the AstraZeneca vaccine, it’s five out of a million. The Johnson & Johnson stats from the States are saying it is six out of 7 million. The chance of getting a blood clot is so low, but I do think that there are certain people who shouldn’t get it. Women with underlying health risks, people who have had previous blood clots, but otherwise if you’re healthy and in that age range I would definitely get AstraZeneca.

ROB: Eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine has now expanded to anyone between the age of 40 and 64 in Alberta. You can go to the Alberta Health Services website for details on booking. I also want to ask about local pharmacies and vaccinations. I know they’ve had supply and then they didn’t have supply. What’s the situation right now

DR. FOWKE: We’re actually quite lucky in the Bow Valley. There’s two in Banff – Gourlay’s and IGA. In Canmore, they have seven pharmacies that have it. It’s very sporadic and it’s a bit frustrating for the pharmacies because sometimes the day before they’ll suddenly be told they’ve got, you know, a hundred doses, but the pharmacists have been amazing at getting it out there. We’ve certainly had all our staff vaccinated at the Alpine Medical Clinic. It’s very confusing out there, how to book, but you can definitely go to alberta.ca to check if you’re eligible. There’s a whole list of people 16 and up with underlying medical illnesses. Sometimes it’s worth even just either walking in or contacting the pharmacies that have it to see if there are any extra doses. You can’t just be complacent and sit back, you really have to get out there and get your vaccines.

ROB: It is a little bit confusing. They add new age groups and categories all the time, pharmacies are delivering them, there are these walk-in clinics. It’s not like there’s really a straightforward way to know, okay, it’s my turn, this is where to go, right?

DR. FOWKE: Yeah. That’s why I’m saying, go on the website. You can book a lot of different pharmacists. Then, when you get your vaccine, you cancel all of the others.

ROB: You have some interesting stats to share too?

DR. FOWKE: In Canada, 22.5% of people have had the first dose. In Alberta it’s 19%. The USA is 37% have received the first dose, and the UK it’s 50%. I think the whole point of this is getting the vaccine, getting our herd immunity because there are variants out there and there are more variants coming all the time.

ROB: You live right in the heart of it in Banff right now. Are you seeing an increase in cases and increase in issues there?

DR. FOWKE: Yeah, we are. We’re seeing more cases. 50% of people have the UK variant. The concern is, with the Brazilian one, that it’s starting to affect younger people and children, and we really don’t want that.

ROB:  What about testing?

DR. FOWKE: I just spoke with someone today, it was one of the restaurants here in town and the owner bought the rapid testing. It’s looking at the antigens, so if your test is positive you have to isolate and then get the PCR. That’s certainly what they’re doing in the UK with schools. Children are testing themselves twice a day. I think the rapid testing is coming and we’re looking at getting it for the clinic.

ROB: So you are still doing testing at Alpine?

DR. FOWKE: Yeah, we’re doing testing at Alpine and we’ve been testing every day.

ROB: Do they still have that big testing center set up in Banff?

DR. FOWKE: Yeah, they do. That’s the one at Community Health.

Filed under: Banff, covid-19