Pfizer pilot project could hit Toronto, Peel pharmacies this week
Posted April 26, 2021 8:03 am.
Last Updated April 26, 2021 12:27 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A second COVID-19 vaccine could soon be an option at select Ontario pharmacies.
680 NEWS has learned that a pilot project is in the works that would make the Pfizer shot available at certain locations, potentially as early as this week.
Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacist Association, says pharmacies are working with the Ford government on the project that would get the Pfizer vaccine to hotspot pharmacies.
Bates says the initial rollout would just be at locations in Toronto and Peel hotspots and says he is hopeful it will be implemented this week.
“It would be a very limited rollout for the first two weeks,” says Bates. “We would roll out from there into other hotspots and then more broadly across the province.”
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott says Peel Region currently has 25 COVID-19 hotspots and will be receiving additional vaccines as early next week once the province secures additional supply.
Elliott says the government is considering giving hotspots, such as Toronto and Peel, 50 percent of vaccines as recommended last week by Ontario’s Science Table with a decision expected soon.
Adding the Pfizer shot to pharmacies would require some additional planning surrounding cold storage, but Bates says pharmacies have the capabilities to manage the vaccine. Unlike AstraZeneca, the Pfizer vaccine needs to be kept frozen.
“When it’s thawed it’s good for up to five days in a fridge,” says Bates. “You just manage your bookings and inventory accordingly.”
No word yet on who would be eligible for the shots.
RELATED: Canada to receive first doses from Johnson & Johnson this week
Bates says the demand for the AstraZeneca shot continues to exceed the supply since age limits were lowered last week. He anticipates the province’s current stock will run out sometime this week with a potential supply interruption on the horizon.
“We’re getting inundated by calls and bookings for the AstraZeneca shot ever since it went down to 40 plus,” says Bates.
Canada is not expecting any additional AstraZeneca doses this week.
Federal Public Procurement Minister Anita Anand said last week that Canada is in talks with the U.S. for some of its AstraZeneca supply after President Joe Biden suggested it might share the shots.
The U.S. has stockpiled tens of millions of AstraZeneca shots, but health officials there have not approved the vaccine for use.
The National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended provinces administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to adults aged 30 years old and older but the province says they’re not quite ready to lower the age.
NACI doctors emphasized that each province and region will set its own policy on vaccination.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of Health said in a statement they will continue to give the vaccine to people aged 40 and above.
“With approximately 337,000 doses remaining and future shipments not expected until May, we will continue to administer AstraZeneca to individuals 40 and over in pharmacies and primary care settings until we receive an additional supply,” they said.
