Alberta needs more Valium, not more vaccinations.

Vincent J. Curtis

17 Sept 21

It is fashionable nowadays to cluck one’s tongue over a COVID emergency in Alberta, and certain panicky pills in Edmonton are feeding the storyline.  In fact, the emergency lies in the minds of a very small number of people.

The fully vaccinated rate in Alberta is 72 percent, and a further 8 percent are partially vaccinated.  With a population of 5 million, that leaves fewer than one million people over age 12 unvaccinated.  Today, Alberta reported 1700 new cases, and a total active case number of 18,000.  Alberta has 222 people in ICU care, and of all those hospitalized, 22 percent are fully vaccinated!

In comparison, Ontario has a marginally better vaccination rate, but with three times the population of Alberta, has nearly three million unvaccinated.  Yet Ontario reports fewer than 800 new cases per day, and has about 6200 total active cases.  Some 30 percent of those hospitalized are fully vaccinated, and there are about 140 ICU cases, of which 13 percent are fully vaccinated.

What accounts for the six-fold higher case numbers in Alberta?  It isn’t due to vast differences in vaccination rates.  It has to do with the intensity of the COVID virus in Alberta, and Ontario should be thankful it does not have this level of exposure.

These numbers show that even vaccines are only marginally effective, and that the age and underlying health of those infected matter more than vaccination status.  The pandemic ebbs and flows in accordance with factors the health officials have yet to figure out, for none of the measures so far tried – mask mandates, lockdown, and vaccination – have proven effective.

Withal, the panic in Alberta is over 222 cases in a population of five million.  What is needed is more Valium, not more pressure to vaccinate.

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