Why take them out of pharmacy? Albertans will no longer be able to get COVID vaccines from pharmacists

As announced late last week, people living in Alberta who are not immunocompromised, in assisted living or dependent on social programming will pay out-of-pocket for the COVID-19 vaccine this fall. They also will have to go to a public health clinic to receive their vaccine, no longer to a community pharmacy.The province says that this change in policy is designed to cut down on waste and minimize costs. “In previous years, we’ve seen significant vaccine wastage. By shifting to a targeted approach and introducing pre-ordering, we aim to better align supply with demand—ensuring we remain fiscally responsible while continuing to protect those at highest risk,” Alberta’s Minister of Primary and Preventative Health Services Adriana LaGrange said in a statement last Friday. According to 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. The vaccine will be rolled out in four phases this fall. First, seniors in retirement homes or with assisted care will get access, free of charge. Next, those with underlying medical conditions, immunocompromised Albertans, those living in congregate living accommodations and/or on social programs can receive complimentary vaccine access. Then, the remaining doses will be available first to Albertans aged 65 and older. Finally, it will become available to everyone else. For these two groups, however, vaccines will come at a cost, which has yet to be determined (though it costs about $110 to procure a dose).Alberta NDP’s health critic Sarah Hoffman called the change in policy “anti-public health.” “If the UCP government was really interested in eliminating waste and protecting the health of Albertans it would be promoting vaccines,” Hoffman wrote in a statement on Saturday. “That way the supply would get used and we would keep ourselves and our loved ones safe.”The head of the Pharmacists' Association of Alberta (RxA) concurs. In a post on LinkedIN, CEO Margaret Wing warned: "This decision will inevitably lead to hospitalizations. Remind me what the cost of a hospital bed due to COVID-19 costs the healthcare system, or worse, days spent in the ICU? Is it more than $13? Because $13 is the fee paid to pharmacists to administer the vaccine. That sounds pretty cost effective to me."While COVID vaccines were available at community pharmacies in previous years, this fall they will only be accessible at public health clinics. For pharmacists in Alberta, the change came as a total shock. "We weren't consulted on it," says RxA president Brittany Zelmer.According to the RxA, Alberta's pharmacists have administered over 4.5 million shots since the beginning of the pandemic. "278 communities where pharmacies often represent the only local point of care, especially in rural, remote, and underserved areas," the association said in a press release. While only 485,000 doses were ordered this year, 800,000 Albertans got the vaccine in 2024-2025. "Pharmacies are uniquely located in almost every community in Alberta. We also have extended hours on weekends," Zelmer says. And of course, cost to the patient is a major barrier: Seniors who are vulnerable and on fixed incomes are now going to have to pay for the vaccine, she says. "It just creates multiple barriers, not just with access but with cost." Added barriers will likely mean fewer Albertans will choose to get the COVID vaccine, even those who the National Advisory Committee on Immunizations (NACI) recommends it. “These policy shifts directly threaten Albertans’ ability to access affordable, timely, and trusted healthcare, particularly among seniors, low-income individuals, and those living in rural or underserved communities,” RxA writes in a press release, referring to both the new COVID vaccine policy and the recent news that seniors’ drug co-payments would be increasing by $10 over 10 months. For pharmacists, this is just the latest in government cuts. Late last year, the province began rolling back service compensation fees for initial patient assessments and cut the number of billable annual care plan follow-ups from 12 to four. Pharmacists in the province are still doing much of the same work. They just aren’t being compensated for it. Zelmer says that pharmacists in Alberta are only compensated $13 for providing the COVID vaccine. "So we were already a very cost-effective way for government to get that vaccination into Albertans' arms," she says. But even at that low cost, pharmacies are missing out on another stream of income. The RxA also calls out the Alberta government's excuse of "waste" as motivating the change. "RxA is incredibly disappointed to see this government identify vaccine waste as the reason to remove vaccine from pharmacies, when pharmacists follow the same program rules as other providers. Government’s past provider direction was to vaccinate with preference over the potential for wastage. This year, wastage will be insignificant due to the availability of single dose packaging," they write. If the RxA were consulted, Zelmer says that they would have followed what other provinces are doing and NACI's recommendations. They also would've pointed out the availability of single-dose pre-filled syringes. "There are things in the industry that we're aware of that I'm not sure [government] knows," Zelmer says. "But we could have sat around the table and brainstormed together on how to reduce costs and emphasize accessibility."

Why take them out of pharmacy? Albertans will no longer be able to get COVID vaccines from pharmacists

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