4 million and counting: Alberta pharmacists hit top jabbers status

If you got a vaccine in Alberta recently, chances are a pharmacist gave you that shot in the arm. According to the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association, pharmacists are now the top provider of vaccines against COVID-19 and influenza, having administered more than four million doses of both vaccines. “I’m super proud—I think pharmacists have done a really great job,” said Carlene Oleksyn, owner of Meridian Pharmacy in Stony Plain, Alta., and owner and director of the Stony Plain Travel Clinic. “Although we are at times overwhelmed and the systems in place in Alberta have not always been the best as far as vaccine rollout is concerned, pharmacists rise to the challenge and continue to move forward and vaccinate.” Read: More vaccinations than ever before, but what services fell for Canadian pharmacists in 2020-21? As of Dec. 3, Alberta pharmacists had injected more than 3.3 million COVID shots—more than any other group of healthcare professionals in the province. They’ve also administered 80% of flu shots in the province, which had tallied 916,814 total doses by mid-November, about 5% lower than the same period last year. Last year, Alberta pharmacists administered over a million flu shots. “We’re still seeing patients coming in for flu vaccinations but the numbers are definitely down for flu vaccines,” said Oleksyn, a regular business columnist for Pharmacy Practice+Business. “I think part of it is just vaccine fatigue.” With the minimum age for COVID-19 booster shots lowered recently to 65 years old, Oleksyn expects pharmacists in the province will have packed calendars for weeks to come. In a press release, the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association pointed out the province’s roughly 5,100 licensed pharmacists—who have the broadest scope of practice in the country—also play a central role in vaccinating against pneumococcal disease and diphtheria-tetanus and pertussis. “With the recently expanded eligibility for COVID-19 booster doses in the province, it is clear that Alberta pharmacists will continue to be busier than ever as they work to meet Albertans' need for publicly funded vaccines in their local community pharmacy,” said the release. Read: How pharmacists can become leaders

4 million and counting: Alberta pharmacists hit top jabbers status

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