Pharmacists each do their part
Learn about how some of our community pharmacies in British Columbia are taking the fight to COVID-19. Across the province, community pharmacists are each doing their part to meet patients’ needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether that means administering COVID-19 vaccines or ensuring affordable medication access during a time of need, pharmacists have been stepping up for their communities.
Community pharmacist and Association member Carmen Pallot is Pharmacy Manager of Pharmasave Old Mill Plaza in Lillooet. Recently, she was part of a team of health professionals who provided COVID-19 vaccinations to First Nations communities in the region.
Srinivasa Rao Sadasivuni is a pharmacist serving the community of Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast. Rao immigrated to Toronto in 2007. After spending a year completing his qualification exams to practice as a pharmacist, he moved to the Sunshine Coast in 2008 to seek a quieter lifestyle. He is currently working in the Sechelt Pharmasave, where he uses his academic background to teach the community about the importance of medication and its adherence.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Elements Compounding Pharmacy owner Priti Bhathella was diagnosed with a serious medical condition, and had to reduce her time at work while relying on her team to take on additional responsibilities. But she instilled in her employees the values of patient care and compassion, so she knew she could count on them.
Pharmacy manager Erica Tsai and her team at Burnaby's Rexall Station Square are ready to provide a smooth and seamless process for your COVID-19 vaccine appointment. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine is one of the best ways to increase community immunity and to fight back against this global pandemic.
Denice Bucsit is pharmacy manager at Save-On-Foods Pharmacy on Prairie Ave. in Port Coquitlam. When the B.C. Ministry of Health announced AstraZeneca vaccines would be made available in pharmacies starting Apr. 1, 2021, more than 600 people quickly signed up to waitlists for COVID-19 vaccines at Bucsit's pharmacy.
Jamie Wigston, BC Pharmacy Association Board Director and pharmacist at West End Medicine Centre in New Westminster, has been seeing a much greater demand for vaccines over the past year. Wigston’s pharmacy has so far administered 200 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to his community.