4 local pharmacies to deliver AstraZeneca vaccines to 60-64 year old clients

Jeff Green | Mar 10, 2021

Inverary Pharmasave, the Sharbot Lake Pharmasave,  Tobia’s Guardian Pharmacy in Northbrook, and Harrowsmith Pharmasave  will be receiving allotments of vaccine later this week. The doses need to be used by the end of March, because they have an expiry date coming up, and they are targeted at 60-64 year old patients.

On Friday of last week (March 5) Sharbot Lake Pharmasave started up an online registration form and invited all of their customers and others to fill in the form. Only those in the target age group, people born between 1957 and 1960, will be eligible for the 500 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. Everyone else who fills out the form will go on a list for future vaccine rollouts according to their age and job category. The Pharmacy is urging their clientele to fill in the form and not to call them directly. The form does not ask any questions about where registrants live.

Like all of the pharmacies that the News contacted, Tobia's Pharmacy in Northbrook answered the call for an expression of interest to be part of a vaccination pilot project, which was put out by KFL&A Public Health in February. They also contacted the pharmacy association several times to see if anything was being planned.

“I did not hear anything about what was being planned, except that it was being worked on,” said Eric Tobia, pharmacist and owner, when contacted by the News this week. “I was expecting that it would be a small program with a few dozen doses. The call I received was on Thursday (March 4) at 4pm, saying I would be getting 500 doses on Monday (March 8) for people aged 60-64 people, and they have to be all used by April 1st. It's been a scramble since then.”

Tobia had to get himself and his staff vaccinated first, at the Invista Centre in Kingston, and then there was online training over the weekend,

In the end, the vaccine delivery has been delayed until Friday, March 12 (at the earliest). He is considering holding a clinic sometime over the next two weeks,

“Nothing is finalised, however. We can't make final plans until the vaccine arrives,” he said, adding that the pharmacy will not be taking reservations over the phone and people should not call.

“We will contact our clients directly, ad we might consider an online tool later on” he said. 

Over in Inverary, Leonard Chan, owner/pharmacist of Inverary Pharmasave, did not find out that he would also be receiving 500 doses until Saturday (March 6). The doses are expected on Friday as well. Inverary Pharmasave has also  set up an online form for people between 60 and 64  to register with them. Further information will be posted on the Inverary Pharmasave Facebook page

Bahvin Patel, owner/pharamacist at Harrowsmith Pharmasave only found out on Tuesday (March 9) that he will also be administering vaccine, starting later this week. An online app to register for a shot will be available soon. Click here to register  or go t o the Harrowsmith Pharmacy Facebook page

The pharmacies in Sydenham and Verona all expressed interest in providing vaccination for their communities, but as of Monday (May 8) they were not yet included in the pilot project. 

Some patients of the Sydenham and Verona medical clinics, who are over 80, have been referred to the Invista Centre in Kingston in a soft launch of the provincial COZAX online and telephone reservation system. That system will be available to everyone over 80 as of March 15. 

The Sharbot Lake Family Health Team said on Monday (March 8) that they “expect that vaccines will be made available, within the next few days, to patients of the FHT who are 80 years of age and over. Patients who are eligible should be receiving a call from the FHT this week to arrange an appointment to be vaccinated.”

Both the Sharbot Lake and the Lakelands Family Health Teams are in the midst of organizing clinics for people who are over 80 and are rostered patients with them. the Sharbot Lake Clinic will take place at the Fire Hall at Wagner Road and Road 38. the likely location in Northbrook is the Lion's Hall.

Pop up mass clinics are being organised for Northbrook, Harrowsmith and Sharbot Lake, starting in April. There will be one clinic a week, rotating between the three communities. 

The provincial government anticipates that, in April, the vaccination program as a whole will be extended to people who are between the ages of 70 and 79.