Pharmasave working with distributor, ministry to fix vaccine delivery problems in Ontario

Pharmasave Drugs is working with the Ontario ministry of health and Shoppers Drug Mart—their distribution partner for this year’s seasonal vaccination rollout—to fix distribution problems. “Pharmasave pharmacies have been experiencing challenges in receiving their flu and COVID vaccines,” Billy Cheung, Pharmasave Drug’s head of pharmacy for national and eastern regions, said in an email to Pharmacy Practice + Business. Indeed overall, the Ontario rollout of publicly funded flu and COVID-19 vaccines this season has been difficult, according to Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association. The contracts for distribution of COVID-19 and influenza vaccines were awarded through a competitive procurement process, said Hannah Jensen, a spokesperson for the Ontario's health ministry. Shoppers Drug Mart was awarded the contract to distribute influenza and COVID-19 vaccines to their own pharmacies as well as Pharmasave pharmacies, said Bates. Meanwhile, McKesson Canada was awarded the contract to other pharmacies. Shoppers Drug Mart only its contact two to three weeks before the start of vaccination rollout, Bates said. This left Shoppers little time to set up accounts and for Pharmasave pharmacies to sign in to a new ordering system. “We have been, and continue to work with the Ministry of Health and the assigned distributor to address the issues,” Cheung said. “To avoid problems moving forward, we do believe the process needs to be changed and pharmacies need to be able to utilize their existing distribution partner, who already delivers to the pharmacy regularly and has the necessary systems in place.” Read: The woman behind the U.S. pharmacist walkouts Last year, Ontario Pharmasave pharmacies had a different supplier than previous years, so this is the second year the Pharmasave pharmacies have had to work with a new supplier, Bates said. The problems hinder the goal to vaccinate as many Ontarians as possible to reduce the incidence and burden of respiratory diseases. “At the same time, it has put a tremendous amount of stress on the pharmacists and staff who are doing their very best to support this goal,” Cheung said. Distribution problems are why pharmacy owner Kyro Maseh decided to end the vaccination season early this year at his pharmacy, Lawlor Pharmasave in Toronto and also at Rylander Pharmasave in Scarborough, where he works as a staff pharmacist. He announced the decision on Nov. 7 through a post on X. Maseh told CTV News that the pharmacies would order 200 vaccines and the distributor would only deliver 20— forcing the pharmacies to turn away more than 50 people a day. Managing staffing and appointment calendars is always challenging during vaccination season, but becomes even more difficult when there’s little supply, Maseh explained to CP24, plus some patients also become aggressive He called on the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care to distribute the vaccines as they did before, through “the right distribution channels.” “I don’t think it was a business decision per se, as many would claim. I think it was just a poor decision all around and ultimately, they’re just not equipped to provide for that many pharmacies,” Maseh told CP24. Maseh and his colleagues have worked hard to make sure their community is vaccinated against COVID-19 and influenza. They’ve even gone on house calls for immunocompromised patients. “I thought I’d be the last person to walk away from publicly funded vaccines, but here I am,” he said. Read: Distribution woes bring early end to vaccinations at Toronto pharmacy

Pharmasave working with distributor, ministry to fix vaccine delivery problems in Ontario

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