Ontario pharmacies played a big role in the first dose phase of the province’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, and they’re playing a big role in the second dose campaign too.
A drive-thru vaccine clinic opened at the Loyalist Pharmasave in Amherstview to fill the gap from other pharmacies that were able to administer first doses but not second.
“We have been fortunate that we’ve had a lot of people raise their hands in wanting to help us,” says Jen Baker, Chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Association.
“We’ve been able to take on some additional doses to make sure that the supply in KFL&A doesn’t go unused.”
Baker says the pharmacy plans to administer 1,200 doses through their clinic by Monday.
They are still offering in-store vaccinations, but since their capacity limit is just four customers at a time, the drive-thru option is what’s going to take them to their 1,200 shot goal.
“We’ve gotten a lot of good feedback on those drive-thrus,” says Baker.
“We’ve seen it happen with primary care throughout the city, as well as public health. It’s a great option for pharmacies as well, to get a large number of injections in a short period of time.”
In order to administer this high volume of doses, pharmacy technicians have stepped up.
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Injecting vaccinations is not in the typical tech’s job description, but the crew at Loyalist Pharmasave took on that challenge without hesitation.
“It was a little nerve-wracking at first, you know, giving vaccines to people and making sure you hit the right spot,” says Lisa Jones, a pharmacy technician.
“But it’s very satisfying.”
Jones says the feedback from the public has been nothing but positive.
She sees every day how excited people are to get their shot, with the hope that the end of the pandemic might finally be in sight.
“I’ve never seen people so excited to get vaccines,” says Jones.
“We’ve had people cry. On the whole, it’s a very satisfying thing to be able to do.”
If the COVID vaccine clinics continue to be a success, Baker and her team hope that this could usher in a new era for vaccinations at pharmacies.
They hope that in future years, they’ll be able to dole out flu vaccines and be considered for other immunization opportunities.
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