Pharmacies across Alberta were supposed to receive vaccine supplies by the province’s fall immunization rollout date of Oct. 15
The number of COVID-19 vaccinations are on the climb in Calgary after most pharmacies received supplies for Pfizer and Moderna vaccines by the end of last week.
As of Wednesday morning, 1,373 doses have been administered to people living within the Calgary zone, amounting to 0.1 per cent of the total population. Overall, 6,504 doses have been administered within the province, amounting to 0.1 per cent of the total population in Alberta.
The majority of people asking for the vaccines are aged 30 to 65 years, according to the the province’s respiratory virus dashboard.
The demand has been “more or less the same” as last year, said Monica Patel, pharmacy manager for Drug + Bean. Her pharmacy received its shipment on Friday, Oct. 18, and the number of people visiting the pharmacy for vaccinations has climbed to about 40 a day.
David Brewerton, pharmacy manager for Lukas Drugs Pharmacy, said the vaccine supply arrived on Wednesday with additional doses on Thursday.
He said demand has been the same as last year and continuous — “all day, every day.” The pharmacy has administered 30 to 60 doses a day.
James Cugnet who owns Mayfair Pharmacy, located in Mayfair Place Apartments, said his pharmacy received COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, three days late.
“We are never provided a reason,” he said, of why the shipment was delayed.
The pharmacy, he said, is almost fully booked with vaccine appointments. “On an average day, we administer (approximately) 30,” he said.
Some pharmacies still waiting on shipments
Some pharmacists say they are still waiting on new shipments for COVID-19 vaccines, despite putting in orders days ago with McKesson Canada, a pharmaceutical supplier.
Randy Howell, a pharmacist at the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in the Crowfoot West Business Centre, said his pharmacy is yet to receive fresh supplies of the COVID-19 and high-dose flu vaccines.
“McKesson keeps delaying shipments and sending out memos,” he said.
The latest memo delivered to the pharmacy, obtained by Postmedia Network, states the deliveries have been impacted by “cold chain supply issues.”
“Your vaccine order invoiced Oct. 21 will be missing from your delivery; it will be rescheduled for your next delivery date,” the memo reads.
“We haven’t had a shipment since last week, so this week we’re getting very low (on vaccine supplies),” Howell said. “If we don’t get them soon, we’re going to run out.”
Matthew Giroux, pharmacy manager at Cambrian Pharmacy, said he put in an order for COVID-19 vaccines last Thursday, Oct. 17, but is yet to receive a delivery as of Wednesday.
“I’ve been calling every day,” he said. As of a phone call with the supplier on Monday, Giroux said he doesn’t know why a shipment hasn’t arrived.
“We’ve had people cancelling appointments (for the COVID-19 vaccine) with us,” he said, “so that’s also a loss in revenue.”
McKesson Canada has not yet responded to a request for comment.
Vaccine tiredness contribute to slow uptake in some pharmacies
Lauren Sule, pharmacy manager at the Medicine Shoppe in downtown Calgary, said the demand for vaccines has been lower than observed in past years.
“In past years, we many have had people booked every five minutes or so (for a vaccine dose),” she said. “But now it’s every 10 to 15 minutes or every half hour. Still steady, but less frequent.”
“Part of the reason is vaccine fatigue,” she said. “People are tired of all the doses and don’t recognize that this is a new variant.”
“There’s not as much positive information on the relative safety of the vaccine compared to information on the effects of the vaccine,” she added.
Ryan Marien, pharmacy manager at Mint Health + Drugs Blue Bottle pharmacy said he noticed demand for vaccines does seem lower than previously seen in past seasons. “It’s been average … it could be busier,” he said. “Either the word hasn’t spread enough or people are vaccine-tired.”