Alberta kids aged 2 and up will soon be able to get vaccinated at pharmacies

Parents in Alberta will have more options to get their toddlers vaccinated starting early next year.

Starting on Feb. 1, 2025, pharmacists in the province will be allowed to administer vaccines to anyone two years of age and older after approved changes from the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP).

Currently, pharmacy appointments are only available for people aged five and over.

“Council approved this change after considering public need and a review of the policies of other pharmacy regulators across Canada,” reads a release from the ACP.

Gunjan Dave is a pharmacist at Cityside Pharmacy in Calgary’s northeast, he says the change is a move in the right direction at time when vaccination rates are dropping.

He adds the current rules can be frustrating for parents who are forced to travel to multiple locations to get their children vaccinated.

According to provincial data, just 22.7 per cent of children between ages one and four received a flu shot last year. Less than 7 per cent in the same age group were vaccinated against COVID-19.

Dave says pharmacists are more than qualified to administer shots to younger children and adds the increased convenience should lead to higher immunization rates and ease vaccine anxiety for small kids.

“They can get everything done at one place rather than waiting for that appointment time,” he says. “Once they feel more comfortable being in the community pharmacies, relationships will make for easier convenience for them to get the vaccine.”

Chris Gallaway with Friends of Medicare says it’s a small step in the right direction, but it’s just one of many policy pieces that need addressing.

“There isn’t any sort of central booking system where its easy,” he says. “We hear from families who often calling around pharmacy to pharmacy asking which vaccines they have.”

Seven other provinces already allow pharmacists to administer shots to children as young as two.