Distribution woes bring early end to vaccinations at Toronto pharmacy

The bungled distribution of publicly-funded vaccines led Toronto pharmacy owner Kyro Maseh to make the difficult decision to end its vaccination season, and possibly stop vaccinating for good. Lawlor Pharmasave will “take a step back” after it administers it's current supply, Maseh wrote in a Nov. 8 post on X. The decision comes after the worst vaccine rollout that the pharmacy has experienced, with only “samplings” of the supplies they ordered arriving, he said. “It’s not manageable to be bombarded by requests for vaccines, with the government providing no supply, and sometimes facing abuse from walk-ins. Patients will suffer, and it didn’t have to be this way,” Maseh wrote. Deliveries have been arriving to Lawlor Pharmacy in large containers that have no shipping labels. Sometimes the boxes arrive empty, Maseh wrote. “This logistical nightmare has resulted in wasted time and resources as we’re expected to ship these back to their distribution centers, and without shipping labels, the boxes have been piling up,” Maseh said. With the time and energy spent dealing with poor distribution, the pharmacy staff cannot provide vaccinations while safely dispensing medicines, Maseh concluded. In Ontario, the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care uses a third party to distribute vaccines to pharmacies. Pharmacies order and receive vaccines directly from the distributor, and not from local public health units. This year, the ministry awarded Shoppers Drug Mart one of the tenders to distribute of Ontario publicly-funded vaccines to pharmacies. McKesson was another distributor, according to the Ministry of Health’s operational information sheet for public health units the 2023 vaccine roll-out. This year, Shoppers Drug Mart is the distributor for Lawlor Pharmasave. When asked to comment about possible vaccine delivery problems, the ministry said that they have been in discussions with the distributor. “Shoppers Drug Mart was chosen through a competitive procurement process as one of the distribution partners for Ontario’s vaccine rollout,” said Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for the Minister of Health. “As recently as yesterday the Ministry of Health met with Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmasave, like we do with all our distribution partners, and continue to have regular touchpoints over the course of the vaccine rollout to manage any issues that may arise, including request for additional vaccine supply allocation.” The decision to end seasonal vaccination early comes from a pharmacy that has delivered thousands of COVID-19, influenza and other vaccines. It’s known for promoting vaccination loudly and with pride. “You and your staff have gone above and beyond for our community and I am so very grateful. I know you would move mountains to make this happen and if you have had to do this, it means there are insurmountable problems with the system,” Dr. Julie Maggi, a psychiatrist in Toronto, wrote on X in response to Maseh’s post. Read: Young Leader in Pharmacy Kyro Maseh: "I began to make the person I'm treating the focus of my work."

Distribution woes bring early end to vaccinations at Toronto pharmacy

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