SUNDRE – Even in the absence of government-imposed public health mandates, plenty of people are nevertheless opting to receive the latest available COVID-19 vaccine.
And at one local pharmacy, many people are also taking the opportunity to get their flu shots.
“We’re at a point now where there’s no government pressure so to speak, and so people are coming in upon their own will,” said Casey Leszynski, a co-owner of the Sundre Family Pharmacy.
“And they want it; they’re just happy that they can access the vaccine in such a way that it’s easily accessible,” Leszynski told the Albertan on Friday, Oct. 20.
Although she in that instance was referring specifically to the latest COVID-19 vaccine that rolled out on Oct. 16, Leszynski said their pharmacy had administered at least as many flu shots – if not more – than COVID-19.
As of the time she spoke with the Albertan, the pharmacy had in just a few days since the rollout reportedly delivered more than 150 doses of each the flu and COVID vaccines.
“We’ve had really good uptake and I would say people are interested,” she said, referring to the COVID vaccine.
“If they’re willing to get it and wanting to, then we’re available here to provide that service, and happy to be part of it.”
Anyone who is so inclined to roll up their sleeves does not need to worry about booking an appointment either.
“We just do drop in; we get a really, really good drop-in response,” she said.
“It’s really good in that regard,” she said, encouraged by seeing the number of people who “want to protect themselves and others.”
As of Oct. 20, the pharmacy had received 200 doses of COVID-19 vaccines in two batches of 100, she said.
“They have been sending out the COVID vaccines in waves,” she said.
Although not scrambling to secure enough doses such as back when the original vaccine was rolled out with a priority for vulnerable populations, she said, “We’re consistently giving vaccines every day.”
The same applies for influenza immunization.
“We’ve received adequate supply,” she said.
“(However,) it’s way too early to tell right now what the general uptake is,” she said about flu vaccines. “But I would say that from previous years in comparison, we’re getting good uptake. It hasn’t wavered hugely.”
And people coming through their pharmacy’s doors have by and large demonstrated civility, she said.
“Everyone’s been extremely gracious and willing and happy to come and receive their vaccine.”
Leszynski also shared her thoughts on Alberta Health’s recently announced plans to cut back the per-vaccine fee paid out to pharmacies by the provincial government. Following pushback from the Alberta Pharmacists Association, the fee cut that initially was to become effective as of Oct. 1 was postponed until the new year.
Until recently, pharmacies could bill the province $20 per COVID-19 assessment for up to five assessments a day. And the province also initially announced it would reduce the fee that pharmacies can charge the province for administering vaccines to $17 from $25 ahead of the Oct. 16 vaccine rollouts.
But Premier Danielle Smith’s government changed its tune the week prior to the rollout and postponed the fee cut until Jan.1. In April, the province plans to further reduce the fee to $13, the amount pharmacies receive for giving flu shots.
“It was just, I’m going to say it was really unexpected,” she said when asked for her reaction to the original announcement before the date was delayed.
“There wasn’t really any prior negotiation that I had heard of before they had said, ‘OK, here you go – you get a reduction in fees,’” she said.
“I just felt that vaccines in general, they’re pretty highly valued. And the service of course that we provide should be valued respectively,” she said.
“It just devalued the service that we provide and the value of getting vaccines,” she concluded.
As to her thoughts when the government walked back on its original plan, she said, “I definitely appreciated that they were going to reconsider and at least listen to some of the concerns associated with that and take some time to think about it as opposed to making a fairly drastic decision without any prior negotiation.”
The situation over at the Sundre Community Drug Mart is fairly similar, with pharmacy manager Chris Aingworth reporting as of Oct. 21 that they had administered nearly 150 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine along with plenty of flu shots.
“We do have enough at the moment,” Aingworth said about supply.
“We’re only allowed to order 100 doses a week anyway,” he said, adding that running out would largely be the result of mismanagement.
“Don’t book people if you don’t have a vaccine,” he said, adding their pharmacy offers vaccines by appointment only for the first two weeks when doses are made available for the season and that walk-ins during that period will likely be referred to another local pharmacy.
“And then we’ll do drop-ins (based) on availability,” he said.
So long as the vaccines are properly stored and refrigerated, they have an adequate shelf life and Aingworth wasn’t worried about any doses ended up being spoiled.
“As long as it stays in the fridge, we’re good for a while,” he said.
However, the moment a vial is tapped, pharmacists then have 24 hours within which to use it all up, he added.
“That does put us in a bit of a predicament when we just got one patient who wants the shot and we don’t have any other bookings,” he said, adding that could end up meaning four doses end up getting thrown out – which he prefers to avoid when possible.
“But we manage it the best way we can; people are usually very easygoing,” he said. “We’ll just refer them to one of the other stores if they’ve got an open container.”
To date, he said most of the people coming in the pharmacy to receive one shot – either for COVID-19 or the flu – are also getting the other.
Yet there are also instances when someone wants only one shot but is adamantly against receiving the other.
“We’ve some that’ll say, ‘Nope, don’t want the COVID shot’ or ‘Nope, don’t want the flu shot,’’’ he said, adding a thorough assessment is conducted prior to giving anyone a COVID-19 vaccine.
“You don’t want to be giving someone a COVID shot when they absolutely don’t want it,” he said.
Overall, people have been patient and the pharmacist has not experienced any issues.
“There’s a bit of apprehension in some people,” he said, adding there are those who harbour doubts about whether they need to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
“It’s like any medication; it’s a patient-specific thing,” he said. “We should be assessing each patient based on their needs and taking it from there.”
Aignworth said he is all too happy to have those conversations with any patient who has questions.
“I think it’s appropriate and then we discuss all the potential issues and side effects and benefits, and then they make the decision,” he said. “Because ultimately, it’s the patient who needs to decide.”
With regards to the announced cut to the fee pharmacies receive for administering COVID-19 shots, he said he from a cost-cutting perspective understands where the government is coming from.
“It’s an issue,” he said about the expense. “Of course they’re trying to keep their costs down. But the way they did it initially was quite a slap in the face.”
Announcing such a major change with barely a week’s notice prior to the start of the influenza season simply didn’t allow adequate time to prepare, he said.
Additionally, there is more to delivering a COVID-19 vaccine than simply giving someone a shot.
“People may think that it’s a fair amount of money, but when you have to hire another pharmacist to run the clinic or to run the dispensary, you’re going to have extra support staff,” he said.
“And we’ve still got to do (regular) prescriptions. There’s a lot of additional costs and then we end up staying after hours just to make sure that the submission goes through to Alberta Health so that it can be recorded on the patient’s NetCare.”
So while Aingworth did not express opposition to reducing the fee to $17, he questions the further decrease to $13 set to happen in April.
“It’s just a lot more labour intensive (than the flu shot) because there’s a lot of assessments needed,” he said about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Aside from a lengthier assessment before even delivering the vaccine that involves looking into a patient’s NetCare profile, syringes for COVID-19 shots must also be individually prepared whereas flu vaccines typically come pre-filled, he said.
“So, we don’t have to take the vial, pull out the amount that we need to give, then give it to the patient,” he said about flu shots. “I mean, it sounds like a minor thing, but when you’re giving 50 or 60 shots in a day, that adds a heck of a lot of time.”
– With files from Riley Tjosvold
