New Covid vaccine: Independent pharmacies report delays as Pfizer and Moderna doses roll out
As major pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens roll out the new Covid vaccine, independent pharmacies say they’re facing delays in getting their shipments, leading to longer wait times for their patients to get vaccinated.
As major pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens roll out the new Covid vaccine, independent pharmacies say they’re facing delays in getting their shipments, leading to longer wait times for their patients to get vaccinated.
Neal Smoller, the owner of Village Apothecary, an independent pharmacy in Woodstock, New York, said he received doses of Moderna’s vaccine over the weekend, but Pfizer’s didn’t arrive until Wednesday. There’s no clear timeline yet for shipments of the Novavax vaccine, he said, which was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration last Friday.
Labor Day is a big time of the year for vaccinations, Smoller said. So far, he’s given the Moderna vaccine to about 400 people over the holiday weekend, primarily older adults concerned about the summer surge in Covid cases and teachers preparing for the start of the school year.
Others, he said, are waiting for either the Pfizer or Novavax vaccines to arrive at the pharmacy.
“We’re big vaccinators, and it’s still a chaotic mess for even us and trying to assuage everybody’s fears” that it’ll be available, Smoller said. “On the patient side, there’s a lot of anxiety and apprehension. Lots of phone calls trying to determine, ‘Can I get my vaccine? I heard it was approved.’”
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