Pharmacist

Quebec still has steps to go before it can penalize FPs who don't take a minimum number of patients.

The province's position comes after the National Advisory Committee on Immunization said yesterday that people who got AstraZeneca as a first shot should get the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines as a second.

Provincial governments are watching vaccination rates closely as pharmacies across the country provide more first and second doses thanks to increased supply.

Previously, NACI had said AstraZeneca recipients could choose whether to get a second dose of the same vaccine, or an mRNA vaccine.

All adults in the province who got their first dose on or after May 10 can book an earlier second shot starting the week of June 28.

As health care professionals, pharmacists have a unique and important role that is multifaceted and ever changing.

Zach Churchill says the case of Kai Matthews, who died in hospital of the bacterial infection on June 1, is "every family's worst nightmare.''