Pharmacies set to deploy COVID-19 vaccines

Many pharmacies across Saskatchewan will receive COVID-19 vaccines as they embark on a pilot project to deliver jabs.

Sixty-three pharmacies in 14 communities will be participating.

According to Dawn Martin, chief executive officer for the Pharmacy Association of Saskatchewan, pharmacies are receiving the Pfizer vaccine.

The Pfizer vaccine is kept at ultra-low temperatures and has a limited shelf life once it’s been thawed.

“That pharmacist and pharmacy team will have about four or five days to get it into people’s arms,” Martin said.

“That’s part of the challenge, in terms of their ability to really quickly ramp up and make sure that none of that vaccine is wasted.”

Speaking to the Greg Morgan Morning Show on Thursday, Martin said there are guidelines on what to do with unused doses.

She said each pharmacy will have a plan to make sure the doses are not wasted, whether that’s keeping a waitlist of people who can accept the vaccine on short notice or giving doses to essential workers like employees of grocery stores that house a pharmacy.

“In the early days, I don’t expect there will be a lot left over. But as we move forward, they’re going to have to make sure that there is some ability to contact folks that they know, folks that are waiting,” Martin said.

Martin said people under the age requirement won’t be able to snag an unused dose.

“Pharmacies are limited to the age categories they have so that you can’t make an appointment,” she said.

In the future, she said pharmacies will likely end up delivering doses of Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson as well. However, she wasn’t sure when that would happen.