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Booking the Covid Vaccine is Frustrating

Posted By beidgg64

"Booking the Covid Vaccine is Frustrating"

About: Health Link 811 Health Link 811 / Immunization Booking Primary Care Alberta

(as the patient),

Tried to book through the pharmacy. The pharmacy wants to charge me. Tried to book through the website. I found I could only book one person at a time, making this extremely inconvenient. Called 811 five times. The system hung up every time, I feel like they don't have enough workers.  

I feel frustrated and let down by Alberta Health. It should not be this difficult to book a vaccine. I worry the system does not work; it  encourages people to give up. When people give up on getting vaccinated  immunocompromised people could be put in danger. It shouldn't be this hard to book a vaccine. 

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Responses

Response from Reid Tansem, Manager, Specialized Support Team, Virtual MD and OCTP, Health Link 811 3 weeks ago
Reid Tansem
Manager, Specialized Support Team, Virtual MD and OCTP,
Health Link 811

Submitted on 2026-10-07 at 11:42 AM
Published on Care Opinion Canada at 11:55 AM

Hello beidgg64,

Thank you for sharing this valuable feedback with our team.

Due to exceptions with the online booking tool, all group appointments need to be directed to Health Link 811 to assist in the booking process. We recognize that this step can be time consuming, and are hoping to improve the online booking system in future years.

While Health Link 811 did expect increased calls and hired additional staff to manage the increased demand, our calls on day one exceeded our increased capacity. During these extremely busy times – which thankfully are rare – additional calls may not be able to enter the queue or be given the option to wait on hold.

I appreciate your frustration trying to book your vaccines, and will take your feedback to our team to explore improvements in the future.

Reid

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Update posted by beidgg64 (the patient)

I feel this system allows people to give up and not get vaccinated at all. 811 isn’t just time consuming, you can’t get through. I called 5 times and was disconnected by the system every time. You’re telling people they need to call 811 because there is literally no other way to book for a family, but this seems to be a dead end. That’s not the same as it being time consuming, in my opinion.

A few years ago I could pop into my grocery store pharmacy and just get my vaccinations while I was already out and about. It was completely covered and hassle free. I didn’t need to book anything or plan ahead, I could just go do it while I was already there. It was convenient and accessible. Now, it seems I need to order my vaccines a year in advance and then spend hours trying to book an appointment just to get turned around. I shouldn’t need to plan my life around this. The website doesn’t work. The phone number doesn’t work. I feel we already had a system that worked perfectly fine where people didn’t need to deal with a barely functional website, a phone number that leads to nowhere, or driving halfway across the city disrupting their whole day. I believe that Albertans deserve a functional healthcare system, including access to vaccines that doesn’t create unnecessary barriers.

Response from Reid Tansem, Manager, Specialized Support Team, Virtual MD and OCTP, Health Link 811 2 weeks ago
Reid Tansem
Manager, Specialized Support Team, Virtual MD and OCTP,
Health Link 811

Submitted on 2026-10-08 at 12:46 PM
Published on Care Opinion Canada at 12:46 PM

Thank you for sharing your feedback, beidgg64.

We understand how frustrating it can be when you're unable to get the support you need, especially when trying to book an important vaccination.

The first day of immunization bookings saw a much higher volume of calls to Health Link 811 than anticipated. Call volumes have since returned to normal levels, with low waits.

If you still need assistance booking your vaccinations, please call us back and a member of the Health Link team will be happy to help.

We are committed to continually improving our services and ensuring Albertans can access the care and support they need when they need it. Your feedback helps us understand where we can do better, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us.

Thanks again,

Reid

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