5 million jabs: Alberta reaches COVID-19 vaccine milestone

Alberta has reached a significant milestone in its COVID-19 immunizationcampaign with more than 5 million doses of vaccines administered.

The province announced Monday that5,056,062 doses of vaccineshad been administered as of the end of day Sunday.

As of the latest update,74.8 per cent of eligible Albertans have had at least one dose of vaccine, while 59.7 per centhave had twodoses.

"Every dose of vaccine that's administered increases our protection against COVID-19," Premier Jason Kenneysaid in a news release.

"These vaccines are safe and save lives. I urge every Albertan to get both their doses. It will not only protect you and your family, but help our province stay open for good."

The news comes as the province reported 130 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, compiling three days of data.

Here's a breakdown of the new cases from July 16 to July 18:

• 38 cases on July 18,4,345 tests (0.99 per centpositivity)
• 43 cases on July 17,5,358 (0.88 per cent positivity)
• 49 cases on July 16,5,517 tests (0.96 per cent positivity)

Active cases in the province have seen a slight uptick from last week. On Friday there were 579 active cases in Alberta, and as of Monday's update there are 605.

Here's how active cases break down regionally:

• Calgary zone: 326
• Edmonton zone: 129
• North zone: 73
• Central zone: 47
• South zone: 28
• Unknown: 2

Hospitalizations continue to trend downward and there are now 100 people in hospital being treated for COVID-19, a decline of 10 from the province's update on Friday. That number includes 27 people being treated in intensive care units.

Over the past three days, two additional COVID-19 deaths were reported, bringing the province's total to 2,316. A man in his 50s died July 15 in the North zone. A man in his 60s died July 17 in the South zone.

Provincial labs detected another 115 cases of coronaviruses of concern, of which 101 were the delta variant. There are currently366 active variant cases in Alberta.