Quebec: Sharp slowdown in pharmacy vaccinations

In recent weeks, COVID-19 vaccination in Quebec pharmacies has experienced a sharp slowdown, in some cases forcing pharmacists to throw away doses for lack of takers or to put their vaccination campaigns on hold. “We find ourselves in the opposite situation to that observed at the start of the campaign,” observes Benoît Morin, pharmacist and president of the Quebec Association of Owner Pharmacists. While last spring the demand exceeded the supply of vaccine available, pharmacies today have access to a large number of doses, but few patients are coming forward. “We open appointment slots, but it's more difficult to fill them. We end up with the challenges of managing doses and orders so as not to lose doses,” says Morin. Victim of his own success In operation since March, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Quebec pharmacies has slowed since reaching the government's vaccination targets, with slight jolts during the announcements for the vaccination passport and the draw. There would still be around 100,000 scheduled pharmacy appointments; most of them being second doses, but also a few first doses. As of August 16, 1.2 million doses had been administered in pharmacies, a number expected to eventually reach 1.3 million. At the height of the campaign, between 20,000 and 21,000 doses per day were administered in pharmacies; today that number hovers around 5,400 daily vaccines. Read: Walmart Canada hosts vax-a-thon to promote walk-in appointments. Dose management Vaccines should be ordered in 140 doses, and each vial can immunize 14 people. The vials can be stored for one month, but must be used within 24 hours once opened. If customers are not there, pharmacists are forced to throw away the doses. The decision to continue with the appointments or not is therefore up to each pharmacist-owner. Some make the decision to transfer their patients to other pharmacies, or get one or two vials from colleagues to vaccinate a handful of patients. “We have noticed since the end of July that many [pharmacies] have decided to stop vaccination,” notes Nirvishi Jawaheer, pharmacist owner and vice-president of professional services of the Federation of pharmacists of Quebec. In addition, many people simply do not show up for their appointment. “We then have to scramble to fill them,” says Morin. Patients do not always cancel their appointments on Clic Santé (the provincial health services portal) “When the schedule for the second dose was moved up, people called where there was availability to get it faster, but their names stayed in Clic Santé,” explains Jawaheer. For the past two months, the pharmacist-owner's team has called clients 48 hours before their appointment to ensure that they come to the pharmacy. “It's quite a job. I have a technician who devotes 3-4 hours a day to it,” she emphasizes. And even after the appointment is confirmed, it happens that the patient goes to a walk-in center in the meantime. Close to the community Vaccination in pharmacies makes it possible to reach a wide range of clients, both in town and in remote regions, and have made it possible to speed up immunization across the province. Several pharmacists will continue to participate in the effort. This is also the case of Jawaheer, whose pharmacy is in the Parc-Extension district, where many refugees are still unvaccinated. “It's easier to reach them in pharmacies, by word of mouth,” Nirvishi Jawaheer believes. “As long as there are doses available, pharmacists will continue to vaccinate. “ Those who have quit may start over if the demand comes back, says Morin. Pharmacies will join in the effort if authorities decide to go ahead with the third dose boosters. For now, they are preparing for the influenza vaccination campaign. This article originally ran on our French sister website, ProfessionSanté.

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