Updated: 22 Niagara pharmacies to provide COVID-19 vaccinations - NiagaraFallsReview.ca

Niagara pharmacists are still waiting to learn how much AstraZeneca vaccine they can expect to receive and when it will arrive, after the province included 22 local pharmacies on its expanded list of drug stores that will vaccinate people 55 years old and up.

In a media release Thursday, it said some locations will begin offering the vaccine as early as Saturday.

But local pharmacists — many of whom have been allowing patients to pre-register for a vaccination via their websites and phone calls — are still waiting to determine how much vaccine they can expect to receive.

They also wonder when those shipments will arrive, before they can begin contacting preregistered customers to schedule appointments.

“Honestly, the amount of information coming out of the ministry (of health) is like next to nothing,” said pharmacist Aaron Boggio, who co-owns three locations on the list of nearly 380 additional pharmacies that will provide doses of vaccine to patients.

“We don’t know when we’re going to receive them. We honestly expect them to just show up on our doorstep. … We were told to sign up, so we’re expecting them. We may honestly receive them as early as this weekend, or early next week,” he said.

“We’re ready. We’re just waiting for them (the province) to get their act together.”

Pharmacist Sean Simpson, who owns two Niagara-on-the-Lake pharmacies on the province’s list, said he too is “still waiting for more details.”

“We have been waiting for it. We weren’t sure when the government was going to make their official announcement, but it looks like the cat’s out of the bag now,” said Simpson, a member of Niagara’s COVID-19 vaccination task force.

“We were somewhat hopeful they wouldn’t make the announcement until we actually had vaccine.”

Despite the unknowns, local pharmacists are eager to do their part in protecting people from the spread of COVID-19.

“We’re excited to be able to help our customers and the residents of Niagara,” Boggio said. “In my mind, it’s taken far too long to get to this point. But we’re really excited.”

Pharmacist Donnie Edwards, who runs a pharmacy in Ridgeway, said he hopes the first of the vaccine shipments will arrive on the weekend, “and hopefully we’ll be starting vaccinations on Monday.”

As COVID-19 cases increase across Ontario during the pandemic’s third wave, Edwards said pharmacies are “going to have to play a huge role in getting vaccinations into people’s arms as quickly as they can.”

“We’re definitely prepared to go 24-7, 365 days a year if we need to,” he said. “We want people back to regular life as quick as possible.”

Local pharmacists have also arranged for extra staff, bringing in licensed pharmacists and registered pharmacy technicians and ensuring they have been trained to administer the vaccinations.

“We’re just raring to go, just waiting for the go-ahead. As soon as we get the vaccines, we’re going to be ready to put them into people’s arms,” Boggio said.

Simpson said he plans to allocate appointments to patients as the vaccine becomes available, and he has an idea of how much he will receive.

“We’re expecting to sort of test our workflow on the first day or two and to see how much we can accommodate, and we’ll scale up as safely as we can,” Simpson said.

“We’ll be trying to do our best to get as many needles in arms as we possibly can.”

Edwards was pleased to see the list included pharmacy locations from throughout Niagara rather than just urban centres.

As an Ontario Pharmacists Association board member, he said the group worked hard to ensure rural pharmacies were involved in the expanded rollout, as well as “fair distribution into all different facets of pharmacies” including chains, big box stores and independent shops.

“People trust their pharmacists and we’re so accessible. It makes it easier for folks, especially in rural areas, instead of having to go into an urban centre to get vaccinations at a mass clinic,” Edwards said. “These are people they know and trust.”

The following pharmacies in Niagara are part of the vaccine program:

Niagara Falls

Shoppers Drug Mart, 3701 Portage Road;

Costco Pharmacy, 7500 Pin Oak Drive;

Walmart Pharmacy, 7481 Oakwood Drive;

Shoppers Drug Mart, 5125 Montrose Road;

Boggio Pharmacy, 6680 Drummond Road;

Rexall, 6484 Lundy’s Lane;

St. Catharines

Shoppers Drug Mart, 387 Scott Street;