Premier Jason Kenney appeared alongside Dr. Deena Hinshaw during the COVID update on May 27, 2021, just a day after the province's "Open for Summer" plan was unveiled. 

Kenney says the province has over 550,000 vaccine appointments booked over the next month, with over 433,000 of those scheduled within the next two weeks. 

"If those folks show up, just those 433,000, we will increase by about 12 percent of our eligible population the percentage of Albertans who are vaccinated. That means we'll reach the 70% threshold. But those folks need to show up and we need to keep driving for ever-higher numbers, for broader protection, and that also will allow us to begin transitioning more quickly to protective second doses." 

Hinshaw voiced her support for the plan and affirmed her involvement in its development. 

She also addressed the topic of second doses, namely the reason they were not highlighted in the plan. 

"I know that some Albertans are wondering why second doses are not specifically mentioned in the plan. We focused on first doses because that is the most immediate target that we need to reach, but let me be clear: second doses are essential and are an integral part of the plan. For this plan to work, we need as many Albertans as possible to get a first dose and then get a second as soon as they are eligible to do so. We are looking closely at our available supplies and shipments, and we expect to be in a position soon to shorten the wait time between first and second doses." 

She says we could hear more on that as early as next week. 

Provincially, Alberta reported 513 new cases from 9,017 tests completed and our positivity rate is about 7.7 per cent. Right now, 10,017 cases are active in the province. With 1,448 more people recovering, the recovered total has reached 213,721.  

There’s 538 people in the hospital with the virus, with 150 of these in intensive care. This is 10 fewer hospitalizations than reported yesterday and seven fewer ICU admissions. In the North Zone, there’s 48 people in the hospital with 13 of these admitted to intensive care.  

Alberta has reported one more COVID-related death, for a total of 2,199 since the start of the pandemic.   

There have now been 2,615,747 vaccine doses administered, with 363,926 Albertans fully immunized with two doses.