Six pharmacies on the Sunshine Coast have been cleared to administer doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to people aged 55 to 65 as of April 6, and while people are eager for the jab, the announcement has left pharmacists scrambling to keep up with a surge in calls.
At Sechelt Pharmacy, operated and run by one man, registered pharmacist Rami Khatib, the phone began ringing on April 2 and hasn’t stopped.
“It wasn’t surprising to get 200 calls on Friday,” said Khatib from his Dolphin Street storefront on April 6, even as he waits for a shipment and is working to get his online booking system in place, while providing updates to social media “almost in real time.”
“I totally understand the level of anxiety and eagerness of people to get this done.”
Demand is high for the vaccine, but details about shipment have been scarce for pharmacies, while the province and association are leaving it up to each community pharmacy to handle booking.
As of April 6, Rx Drug Mart on Teredo Street, Pharmasave on Cowrie Street and Suncoast Pharmacy on Inlet Avenue are the other locations in Sechelt cleared to administer the vaccine, according to a regularly updated list on BC Pharmacy Association’s website.
In Gibsons, Howe Sound Pharmacy on Highway 101 and London Drugs on Gibsons Way were on the list.
Immunize BC and the pharmacy association formed a partnership for the recently announced distribution effort.
News that the B.C. government would be adding community pharmacies as locations for administering the vaccine was first announced March 18. On April 1, the Ministry of Health announced additional doses of AstraZeneca vaccine would be made available at more Lower Mainland community pharmacies, with 488 locations in the Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Fraser Health regions participating.
Few details
The pharmacies Coast Reporter spoke with had few details to share about shipments and even the rollout itself, with at least two pointing to last week’s sudden announcement.
“When we put our name on the list we didn’t anticipate that the BC Pharmacy Association would put on the website that we were handling vaccinations,” said Christopher Juozaitis, registered pharmacist and owner of Howe Sound Pharmacy. “It kind of came out a little quick.”
His pharmacy was expected to receive its shipment of 100 doses April 6 and is working on establishing its online booking platform.
Meanwhile, it too has received “tons of calls,” according to Juozaitis, with well over 100 people calling on Saturday, alone.
The pharmacy administered 1,000 flu shots last fall, so Juozaitis expects the 100 doses will be exhausted quickly.
Registered pharmacist Jim Harte at Suncoast Pharmacy shared a similar message. “The phones have been off the charts here,” he said, following last week’s update. Since then, he’s been answering the phone “every couple of minutes.”
London Drugs said 2,200 doses would be distributed among its 20 locations on the Lower Mainland before the end of Easter Monday, “with additional supply expected in the coming weeks.”
The 100 doses supplied to the Gibsons location of London Drugs, meanwhile, were already accounted for by Easter Monday, and 98 people were on a waiting list.
The BC Pharmacy Association has left it up to individual pharmacies to establish a booking system, and on April 3, it was forced to address reports that some pharmacies were giving preferential access to the vaccine.
The Sunshine Coast pharmacies Coast Reporter spoke with said they’re taking a first come, first serve approach to ensure fair access, with most relying primarily on online booking systems.
“If we left it by phone, I think we would just be inundated by calls,” said Juozaitis, adding: “You can’t blame the public for wanting to get their family protected. That’s just human nature.”
And while the faster-than-expected rollout, trickle of doses and surge in calls present their share of challenges, especially for small operations like Khatib’s one-man pharmacy, he said he wants to contribute – especially since running a business has prevented him from participating as much as he would like at the Sunshine Coast’s public health vaccine clinics operated by VCH.
“Everybody is trying their absolute best to get this going,” said Khatib. “[With] a little bit of patience, hopefully we’re at the homestretch.”
