Over the weekend, thousands of Albertans let out their frustration with the province’s MyHealth Records website for its long virtual queues while the time to acquire a COVID-19 vaccine record is also running out.
The said vaccine record, which either provides information that a particular person has been given two doses of the vaccine or has tested negative for the virus, will be already required to access public establishments and events starting this Monday.
The rush to get a mandatory COVID-19 vaccine record was brought about by the announcement of Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on September 15. Kenney revealed the province’s Restrictions Exemption Program, which required presenting a vaccine record to be admitted to non-essential businesses and events like gyms and restaurants.
And it will all start on September 20, just five days after his announcement, which explained the long virtual queues to access the province’s MyHealth Records website. Alberta’s Restrictions Exemption Program is similar to the other vaccine passport systems being launched in other parts of the country.
Annoyed residents vented their disappointment on social media over the weekend, sharing screenshots and comments about their experiences with the MyHealth Records website. The most common complaint is the extremely long wait time that can take hours.
Twitter user Andrew Grose shared his irritation regarding the “107,380 people ahead of me in line” to view his health records. Another Twitter user, Beth Allan, related how she “lost” her place in the digital line after waiting for a long time. Kenit Gato also emphasized how he got an “HTTP 400 error” after 4 hours of staying in the MyHealth Records website digital queue.
Remarkably, to encourage more residents to have themselves vaccinated, the province of Alberta previously announced a one-time incentive of $100. However, this incentive is only available for adult Albertans 18 years of age and up who will have their COVID-19 first or second vaccine jabs between September 3 and October 14.
