Doses of the Pfizer vaccine are still available at Medi-Centre Pharmacy in Prince Albert. (Submitted photo/Neil Twyver)

By Teena Monteleone

Pharmacy Vaccinations

Pharmacies urging residents to book vaccine appointments: ‘We don’t want them to go to waste’

May 7, 2021 | 3:15 PM

As the pharmacy vaccination pilot program continues to roll out in Saskatchewan, some say bookings have been slower than expected.

Neil Twyver is the business manager for Medi-Centre Pharmacy in Prince Albert. They received 150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Thursday. As of Friday morning, only 89 doses were spoken for.

“So, our concern is, certainly over the next three days, because the vaccine has to be used by Monday night, that we may not be able to fill all those appointments and we don’t want to waste any,” Twyver said. “We would rather have those in arms rather than still in the vial.”

So far, 102 pharmacies in 37 Saskatchewan communities are approved to receive vaccine as part of a pilot program. In Prince Albert alone, there are 14 pharmacies offering vaccinations in addition to the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) clinics and drive-thru.

The manager of Crescent Heights Pharmacy in Prince Albert said with all those options, the uptake on their vaccine bookings wasn’t quick.

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“Initially we signed up for 120 vaccines to be delivered, but around Monday we realized that wasn’t a realistic number to fill and so to eliminate the possibility of wastage, we made the decision to drop down to 60 doses, which we were able to fill over the course of the week when age eligibility dropped,” said Albert Depadua.

As of Friday morning, the pharmacy manager at the Co-op in Prince Albert, Elaine Jacques said there were still appointments available for Saturday and Sunday. They were sitting on just under 30 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

A pharmacist from the Shoppers Drug Mart in North Battleford said as of Friday afternoon, they still had about 20 doses available and the Co-op pharmacy there was in a similar situation.

If pharmacies do end up with left over vaccines, the SHA may work with them to help redistribute doses. Some pharmacists said they may bring in patients earlier for appointments or contact those on waitlists to avoid wastage.

In smaller centres where there are fewer options for vaccine appointments its a different story. The co-owner of Rosthern Pharmacy and Sask Valley Pharmacy, Kevin Melnyk said all 200 doses of the Moderna vaccine they received have been spoken for and they could still use more. Same goes for Wakaw, where Colette Stan and her team at the pharmacy administered 100 Moderna doses almost as quickly as they received them. She’s been referring patients to Prince Albert.

Twyver hopes that referral system will help them fill their open spots.

“I think public health has done a great job of advertising and letting the public know where they can go. Being that the pharmacies just received their doses and it’s a new option, maybe there just isn’t as much education,” said Twyver. “But certainly pharmacists are capable of administering those doses and are more than willing to help.”

Each pharmacy is responsible for their own booking system. Twyver said Medi-Centre Pharmacy is using the site www.bookmyshot.com to fill their schedule.

“The booking code is the pharmacy’s phone number 306-763-2022…all of their waivers are filled out online,” said Twyver.

“We just need them to show up.”

Wasted Doses

As of Monday, the provincial total for vaccine that was deemed unusable was 249 or 0.06 per cent of all provincial doses administered so far.

In an email to paNOW, the SHA said they have a strict process in place for recording instances of unused doses that all health partners have to comply with. Also, when vaccines are unable to be used at one location, they may be transferred for use in another.

According to the SHA, ‘wastage’ occurs for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, breaks in the cold chain, defective product, expired product, and dropped vials. Each time wastage occurs, the situation is examined closely to ensure that if it can be avoided in the future, steps are taken to do that.

‘Bonus doses’ may also occur, which means vials labelled as 5 vaccines often contain up to 6 total doses. The SHA said all clinics ensure a plan is in place for utilization of those doses.

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teena.monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena