Alberta Says Fall COVID-19 Vaccine Plans Will Follow Last Season’s Rules With Update Coming
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization issued new guidance for the 2026-27 season. Alberta has not announced eligibility rules or pharmacy access for the coming fall.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization released its recommendations for the fall and winter COVID-19 vaccine season. The committee strongly recommends vaccination for everyone over 65, care home residents, people with specific medical conditions, pregnant people, health care workers, people from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, and members of racialized communities.
As a secondary recommendation, NACI states provinces may offer the vaccine to everyone six months of age and older.
Provincial data shows nearly eight per cent of Albertans received a COVID-19 vaccine dose in the 2025-26 season. Last year the Alberta government charged many people $100 for the shot, while offering it free only to people with specific health conditions, health care workers, seniors in care homes, and recipients of the Alberta Seniors Benefit.
Alberta did not provide the vaccine free to all residents aged 65 and older last season.
The province also did not allow pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccines until spring. As of June 2026, the Alberta government has not released its plans for the fall COVID-19 vaccine rollout. ” Dr.
Lynora Saxinger, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of Alberta Hospital, said last year’s eligibility rules created confusion. She noted that many people have not received a COVID-19 vaccine for a year or more and face elevated risk.
Saxinger said she would like the province to offer the vaccine free to all Albertans 65 and older and to make publicly funded doses available in pharmacies this fall.
Craig Jenne, a professor at the University of Calgary, said vaccines work best when free and easy to access. Jenne noted that NACI’s recommendations allow people such as teachers who work in crowded indoor environments to choose vaccination even without an underlying health condition. He added that COVID-19 can still cause severe infections and long COVID beyond hospitalization and death.
