Pharmacists ramp up to vaccinate people 85 and over in New Brunswick starting today

Just three minutes after the provincial government announced New Brunswickers 85 and older could now book COVID-19 vaccine appointments at pharmacies, Dennis Abud's phones started ringing.

Abud is the owner of a Jean Coutu pharmacy in Dieppe and a board member with the New Brunswick Pharmacy Association.

Within two hours after the government's announcement on Friday, all of the allotted appointment times at Abud's storewere filled.

And Dieppe andMonctonpharmacieswon't even get the vaccine until March 23. Vaccinations there will start the next day.

Not all pharmacies at once

"It's the nature of the vaccine, so we can't ship out that vaccine all in one shot," Abud said. "It's got to be paced out because it's so fragile. We're getting the Pfizer vaccine next week, we'll be getting 60 doses and they're all spoken for already."

New Brunswickers 85 and older in some areas will be able to get shots at their pharmacies today, but the Department of Health would not identify those areas.

Department spokesperson Shawn Berry said vaccine delivery to pharmacies will have to be carried out over the five days because of the special containers and strict conditions required. After the first shipment, he said, the process of weekly deliveries and booking appointments should be "seamless."

Pharmacies will be supplied with the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines first, with the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine expected to roll out later this month.

First-dose clinics for residents of all long-term care homes are scheduled to be completed this week. Clinics are also expected to be completed this week for First Nations community members aged 16 and over.

Some people, such as health-care workers and first responders, are getting their vaccines through clinics at the Horizon Health Network and the Vitalit Health Network, but pharmacies present a new option.

People 85and older who can't get a pharmacy appointment for a shot this time, will have a chance with the next shipment of vaccine.

Abud said pharmacies will be updated about the allocation of vaccines, which he said is lower right now because of the age group being vaccinated.

He called it a "marathon" 28-week campaign.

Making sure every dose counts

"Within the next 14 weeks hopefully we'll get most of the people vaccinated, but then we have to start again for their second shot, so it's going to be a long process, but we're ready," he said.

Ford's Pharmacy manager Peter Ford said many of the people in the 85-plus category in his area don't have access to computers, so he spent hours tracking down clients in that age group, calling them to book an appointment.

He said the province has done a good job with the logistics, which are challenging.

He saidhe's working hard to make sure every dose counts.

"So we're all booked up," he said. "We've got backups we've got people around the neighbourhood that can come at a moment's notice, so we don't waste any shots, which is going to be extremely important trying to get maximum use out of everything they're going to give us."

Hecautions people to be patient.

"If you're 75, don't bother phoning right now,because you will not get an appointment. We're doing 85 and above right now. The next group will be 80 and above and if you're 79, you're not 80."

It's a sentiment shared by Abud.

"We're putting up posters, we're telling people to be patient, wait your turn. Look on the government website they'll be announcing when your turn will be coming up," Abud said."Please don't inundate us with phone calls. We already have enough doing our daily tasks we already have to do."

Abud also has a cancellation list with people willing to come at the last minute if a dose is available.

He thinks the first run will be challenging, but this year's flu shot clinics with social distancing were a good rehearsal.

"We're rolling up our sleeves. We took our vaccine and we're going to be rolling up our sleeves to give the vaccine, so I'm incredibly proud of the profession."

Information about vaccination for different age groups is available on the provincial government website, gnb.ca, and most pharmacies have information posted on their websites.

The province hopes to see all New Brunswickers receive their first dose of the vaccine by Canada Day.