COVID Vaccine

    Working in retail pharmacy, I've seen more than my fair share of barriers to medication access. From transportation to monetary issues, there are a vast amount of ways that patients can be prevented from getting the care they need. In regard to the COVID vaccinations, this is especially predominant. For example, the area I work in has a high elderly population who are some of the highest on the list for receiving the vaccine. This patient group is well-known for their challenges with technology, so online scheduling - which is seen as more convenient - is quite the opposite for them. This goes for any appointment, but is currently more pressing with getting vaccinations to the public. There isn't enough vaccine supply to allow for walk-in administration at this time and the current supply has strict time and temperature restraints that severely limit its use. Given time this restriction will no longer be an issue, especially with the introduction of the Johnson & Johnson vaccination to the market which has only involves one dose and lower temperature requirements. However, this introduction is also now a limitation as the public sees a more attractive option for receiving their immunity and desires it more than the currently available options. Patients are now willing to wait until they can get the one-dose vaccine, rather than what's in their local pharmacy at this point in time. That is, if it's at their local pharmacy. 

    There's an unequal distribution among pharmacies -- even between chains. Two chains in particular have made a contract directly with the state to get their product, rather than going through the health department like the other pharmacies. If everything were to go as planned, all of the vaccines would go to the local health department to then be distributed to local pharmacies based on volume, patient demographics, and phase of vaccination efforts. Instead, these chain pharmacies get a chunk of what would go to the health department and dominate the vaccination market. Now one could say that the other pharmacies should have thought of this and made contracts themselves, or you could say that these direct supply lines are unfair, but that doesn't change the way things are. Of course, there are more parts to this story like pharmacy location, long-term care facilities, large health systems, etc. that come into play, but that's something for another day.