The head of one of Canada’s largest pharmacy companies is asking the B.C. government to speed up the process to utilize them for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Shoppers Drug Mart president Jeff Leger said he appreciates the work government is doing to vaccinate British Columbians but they aren’t taking full advantage of the resources at their disposal.
“This channel could do a lot as more volume comes into the country,” Leger told Global News.
“There are 10,000 pharmacies in Canada and we think there are two to three million doses that could be administered per week.”
Alberta has been using pharmacies for immunizations since the beginning of March.
Ontario started using pharmacies last week and in Montreal registrations started on Monday for vaccination appointments at pharmacies.
There are almost 1,400 pharmacists in B.C. and most people in the province live within a 10-minute drive of one.
Leger said using pharmacies could help address some concerns around vaccine hesitancy.
“We have millions of customers who use our stores, who know the pharmacists… it is an element of trust,” he said.
More than one million people in B.C. received a flu shot in pharmacies in the fall.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said pharmacists will play a critical role in COVID-19 vaccinations “over the coming months,” but the province will not provide any specifics as to when.
The government is pointing towards fridge-stable vaccines such as AstraZeneca and potentially Johnson & Johnson for use at pharmacies. Pharmacies have been using Pfizer and Moderna vaccines in other provinces.
“We’re in discussions with pharmacists now as to how we can use the extraordinary resource and talent of community pharmacists to support our efforts,” Dix said.
“We’ll be working with pharmacists strongly here in our campaign to ensure that we deliver vaccines to everyone.”
When asked why the province is not using pharmacies, Dix indicated the province has delivered more vaccine directly to British Columbians, including those in remote Indigenous communities.
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