As major pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens roll out the new Covid vaccine, independent pharmacies say they\u2019re facing delays in getting their shipments, leading to longer wait times for their patients to get vaccinated.<\/p>\n
Neal Smoller, the owner of Village Apothecary, an independent pharmacy in Woodstock, New York, said he received doses of Moderna\u2019s vaccine over the weekend, but Pfizer\u2019s didn\u2019t arrive until Wednesday. There\u2019s no clear timeline yet for shipments of the Novavax vaccine, he said, which was authorized by the Food and Drug Administration last Friday.<\/p>\n
Labor Day is a big time of the year for vaccinations, Smoller said. So far, he\u2019s given the Moderna vaccine to about 400 people over the holiday weekend, primarily older adults concerned about the summer surge in Covid cases and teachers preparing for the start of the school year.<\/p>\n
Others, he said, are <\/strong>waiting for either the Pfizer or Novavax vaccines to arrive at the pharmacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re big vaccinators, and it\u2019s still a chaotic mess for even us and trying to assuage everybody\u2019s fears\u201d that it\u2019ll be available, Smoller said. \u201cOn the patient side, there\u2019s a lot of anxiety and apprehension. Lots of phone calls trying to determine, \u2018Can I get my vaccine? I heard it was approved.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Independent pharmacists who spoke to NBC News claimed that the delays are due to drug manufacturers and wholesalers prioritizing larger retail chains, including CVS and Walgreens, for their early shipments, an assertion both Pfizer and Moderna pushed back on.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Moderna said it\u2019s \u201con track with all of our commitments across channels, including non-retail,\u201d referring to doctor\u2019s offices and community health centers.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Pfizer said in a statement that the drugmaker has a \u201csubstantial supply\u201d of the new Covid vaccine and has shipped and delivered \u201cmillions of doses,\u201d adding that \u201call orders are being fulfilled as received, and are being shipped within days of an order being placed.\u201d<\/p>\n Both drugmakers acknowledged that buying the vaccines through wholesalers could slow down the process slightly.\u00a0<\/p>\n Spokespeople for CVS and Walgreens said they have ample supply of the vaccines.<\/p>\n Emlah Tubuo, the owner of Powell Pharmacy in Ohio, runs the only independent pharmacy in Powell, a small city north of Columbus. Most retail chains require appointments to get a vaccination, she said, but her pharmacy offers walk-ins.<\/p>\n Tubuo has ordered doses of both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines but has yet to receive any. She hopes to get the shipments sometime this week.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens is that the chain pharmacies typically get them first, then the independent pharmacies are usually like last in the rollout,\u201d Tubuo said. \u201cWe really dislike it.\u201d<\/p>\n Some patients who would\u2019ve normally already gotten their flu shot are holding out because they want to get it alongside the Covid shot.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got lots of calls, and I had to just tell them to just check back with us,\u201d she said. \u201cOur goal was to coadminister because we\u2019ve been educating people that it\u2019s OK to get both vaccines at the same time.\u201d<\/p>\n Jonathan Marquess, vice president of the Academy of Independent Pharmacy in Georgia, said the vaccine rollout in his state is going well overall, although a few independent pharmacies may still be waiting on doses.<\/p>\n \u201cI think most independents are getting them earlier this year,\u201d he said, adding that the delay seems to be more of an issue for the Pfizer doses.<\/p>\n Mayank Amin, the owner of Skippack Pharmacy in Pennsylvania, said he\u2019s received thousands of doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Amin said he\u2019s a rare example \u2014 his pharmacy primarily focuses on vaccines, and he attributes his success in getting doses to persistently maintaining contact with manufacturers and following up with them to ensure the vaccine doses are prepared and delivered.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s crazy that you have to do that,\u201d he said. \u201cThe chain pharmacies, they obviously have someone that\u2019s their direct connection to Moderna, direct connection to Pfizer, saying, \u2018Make sure we get these vaccines.\u2019 For us, it\u2019s every man on their own.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Other small pharmacies are still waiting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Emmanuel Ayanjoke, the owner of Altev Community Pharmacy in Cincinnati, said he hasn\u2019t received any doses of the Moderna vaccine yet. (He didn\u2019t order the Pfizer vaccine.)<\/p>\n Doctor\u2019s offices started referring patients to the pharmacy as early as August, he said, and so he has begun collecting names and will reach out once the vaccine has arrived.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re hoping that by this week we get the vaccine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"At](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2024-09\/240904-covid-vaccine-al-1505-6ed98c.jpg\")
<\/picture>Patients holding out<\/strong><\/h2>\n