Alberta pharmacists face problem after problem trying to provide fall vaccines

Just one of the recent updates to Alberta’s healthcare system includes taking COVID-19 vaccines out of pharmacies. Now, most Albertans who want to be inoculated will have to head to a public health clinic and pay out-of-pocket. This change is unnecessary and ineffective, argues Kaitlyn Watson, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta’s faculty of pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences. “Why are we restricting the service of the most effective vaccination channel this year?” she asks, highlighting that pharmacies have a vital role in making vaccinations accessible. “They have longer opening hours, they’re freely accessible, it’s already where people are comfortable getting vaccinated.” Even senior Albertans, who get the vaccine for free, are “quite upset” with the change, says Aileen Jang, the president of the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (RxA). The Alberta government’s rationale behind this new system was to stop wastage, which the province says will help them “remain fiscally responsible while continuing to protect those at highest risk.” According to reporting in the Calgary Herald, more than a million doses of the vaccine were wasted last year—over half of Alberta’s order or $135 million worth of vaccine inventory. Previously, vaccines were packaged in multi-dose vials. And once they were opened, they couldn't be left out for long before going bad, which led to some unfinished vials being thrown out. But, Jang says that vaccine waste is “immaterial” this year because the shot came in individual doses. There have also been reports of vaccine shortages. While pharmacists can access and sell vaccines from private supplies through Pfizer Canada, the pharmaceutical giant has placed temporary limits on these orders because of the demand. Now, long waitlists are forming without any sign of when supply will be available again. Jang explains that this has to do with the wholesalers, who also don’t want to overstock since they can’t return any unused product. While pharmacists like her try to access the wholesaler’s stock, “it’ll go out of stock within hours and then you have to wait until the next batch comes in,” she explains. Even when she can get ahold of doses, it might be a week after a patient comes in seeking it out. By then, Jang explains, a lot of patients don’t want it anymore. One rural pharmacist Jang knows was able to get shots through the province to vaccinate people living in a congregate setting. However, he was given 40 extra doses that he is not allowed to give to any walk-ins. “If the [government] was worried about wastage, then this is just as wasteful,” she says. The province also quietly announced that Albertans who want COVID shots in 2026 will have to preorder shots before Dec. 15. This is “really problematic because it fundamentally complicates access to a critical public health measure,” Watson says. “It's creating confusion and unnecessary bureaucracy that ultimately could lead to lower vaccination rates, which is really concerning.”All of this back and forth has led to pharmacist frustration. When the announcement was first made, Jang says the province’s pharmacists spent precious time explaining to patients how to access shots if they qualified. “There was an enormous amount of labour that we had to go through just to help the public—and then we didn’t even get to do it,” Jang says. On the patient side, Jang says that the confusion and frustration surrounding COVID vaccines this fall will lead to less vaccine uptake and a greater strain on the healthcare system as sick patients flood emergency rooms. There will also be a bigger cost to the system overall, because of this, Jang says. “It doesn’t make any sense; if we’re supposed to be trying to protect the public, why is this so difficult?”

Alberta pharmacists face problem after problem trying to provide fall vaccines

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