Pharmacists urging governments increase their utilization in vaccine distribution

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Published April 16, 2021 at 1:26 am

vaccine

Despite claims from certain government officials that Canada’s vaccination program is on the right track, the latest data from the New York Times indicates otherwise.

As of mid-April, only 22 per cent of Canadians have received the initial dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and only 2.3 per cent have been fully vaccinated.

By comparison, the U.S., a country with 10 times our population, has managed to give 37 per cent their first does, and 23 per cent are fully vaccinated; while 49 per cent of U.K. residents have been administered a single dose of the vaccine, and 12 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Because of the slow pace at which Canadians have been able to get vaccinated, the country’s pharmacists feel they aren’t being properly utilized.

A recent survey indicates Canadians would prefer being vaccinated by their local pharmacist—43 per cent of respondents said their preferred location to be vaccinated was a pharmacy, compared to 42 per cent who preferred a physician’s office, and 14 per cent who preferred a public health clinic.

However, despite 11,000 pharmacies across the country, access to vaccines has been limited in many regions, and many pharmacies are still not receiving access to all the approved vaccines.

“Pharmacists are waiting and ready to do more,” Christina Tulk, chair of the Canadian Pharmacists Association, said in a news release.

“Every day we are hearing from pharmacists across the country who have thousands of patients on waiting lists. Pharmacies are close to home, familiar and trusted places for many Canadians. We need to direct the vaccine supply to where people want to go to get vaccinated,” she continued.

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