Alberta has yet to sort out all the demanding situations with the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, pharmacists say.
After concerns were raised about canceled appointments last week, the provincial government announced it would increase its order limit for pharmacies from 100 doses per week to 350 doses, starting Monday.
And while some retailers claim that the situation has progressed and that they have enough stock, others claim that there are still problems.
“That’s hard. There are a lot of adjectives I can use,” said Ian Kruger, pharmacist and owner of Two Pharmacy in Cochrane, when asked to describe the vaccine rollout.
On Tuesday, he spent three hours on the phone to pay for his weekly order of COVID-19 vaccines. When the shipment arrived Wednesday, it included 200 doses of Moderna and none of Pfizer.
“We have the ability to vaccinate a lot more people than we gain, which is very unfortunate because we may have more people,” he said.
Alberta Government Improves Access to COVID-19 Vaccine After Cancellation Issues
The updated photographs were first made public on Oct. 16.
McKesson Canada, a major distributor, told CBC News last week that Pfizer was already in place and shipments had begun.
CBC News reached out this week and told McKesson that it had COVID vaccines in stock and that they would ship them “as fast as we get them. “
Health Canada said Alberta ordered and won 1,047,710 doses, 696,350 doses of the Moderna vaccine and 351,360 doses of the Pfizer vaccine. This is unchanged from last week.
Pfizer’s formulas were approved at the end of September, a few weeks after Moderna’s.
Jason Chan Remillard woke up at 3:30 a. m. on Wednesday to learn he had won his store’s weekly order.
“I guaranteed myself all my three hundred shots of Moderna, but there are none of Pfizer, even though I know they say they are fully stocked with vaccines,” she said.
Chan Remillard, pharmacist/owner of Calgary’s Brentwood Pharmasave, ran out of vaccine after the first day of last week.
He estimates he could deliver about 500 shots a week.
“Personally, I think the demand is a little higher than expected. It’s kind of a wild card because nobody’s sure what’s going to happen. “
Chan Remillard said most consumers get it.
But, he said, the workload is expanding because many other people have to show up twice, once to get the flu shot and once to get the COVID vaccine, instead of getting it at the same time.
Spend a lot of time explaining source issues to customers, answering phone calls, and converting appointments.
“It’s twice as many frames for us, right? Because we’re facing lines again. “
According to Chan Remillard, Pfizer’s lack of inventory adds a challenge, as other people are what he calls “brand loyalists” and just need that specific photo.
“I tell other people it’s another vaccine. This is not a reminder. It’s an ideal thing to receive what we have,” he said.
“I had assumed, based on previous communications, that I would get Pfizer and Moderna. And now, coming back, I have to tell the other people who came here hoping to get Pfizer that that didn’t happen. And ‘sorry to disappoint’: “You’re back now that we have Moderna and that’s the most productive thing I can do. “
CBC reached out to the Alberta government for a response, but got a response at the time of publication.
Journalist
Jennifer Lee is a reporter for CBC News in Calgary. She worked at CBC Toronto, Saskatoon and Regina before landing in Calgary in 2002. If you have a story about fitness or human facets to share, let them know. Jennifer. Lee@cbc. California
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