The ABC11 I-Team in partnership with ABC-owned television stations found that 45% of postal codes across the state had no pharmacies, creating several ‘pharmacy deserts’.
North Carolina has an average of three pharmacies every 10 square miles. However, more than 90 percent of counties across the state report even less.
Wake County has four times as many pharmacies in Granville County, where Gary Bowman has run the Professional Pharmacy for nearly 30 years.
“We are proud to know who our customers are, calling them by name, we are the same people who go out to eat with them, who go to church with them, who go to football games with them,” Bowman explained. .
As an established and trusted health professional, Bowman said that now people are looking to him for advice and news about the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Oh, lots of phone calls. ‘Do you have the vaccine? Are you going to get the vaccine? When can I get it? Can I get on a list?'” He said.
It is one of nine county pharmacies with more than 60,000 residents.
Bowman said that over the years, two other independent pharmacies have closed.
Stephanie Kiser, a pharmacist and director of Rural Health at UNC, said there was a fear of further closures.
“When we see pharmacies closing and we see people having to travel longer distances to access a pharmacy that seems unknown and that often does not encourage confidence in that provider-patient relationship that they would like to have,” she explained.
Closing in rural areas also leads to greater gaps in access between urban and rural communities.
With 46 pharmacies every 10 square miles, Mecklenburg County has the largest number of pharmacies in the state. Although Mecklenburg County is also one of the most populous areas, it has 2,300 times more pharmacies in the same space compared to Northampton County, where there are only two pharmacies every 1,000 square miles.
Although these disparities have existed for decades, today they are suffering more dire consequences.
“We are really recognizing the value of these pharmacies in these small communities that may be the closest place to get a vaccine,” said Kiser.
Transport and distance to the vaccine can be another barrier for people who are not 100% on board with the COVID-19 vaccine.
“To cross the county for some older adults that is a very long trip, they don’t want to make the trip,” explained Kiser. “The idea of getting in the car and having to drive 20 miles can be a big obstacle.”
Unfortunately, these pharmacy deserts tend to exist in rural communities where an elderly population lives.
The ABC11 I-Team has also discovered many of the postal codes without a pharmacy that tend to be in communities with higher levels of poverty and home to black and Latino residents. A finding that means that the COVID-19 vaccine will be more difficult to obtain for poorer black and Latino residents; the same communities already disproportionately impacted by the virus.
Russell’s Pharmacy and Shoppe opened in East Durham two years ago to meet just that need.
“You’re looking at a historically marginalized area, there are a lot of people who don’t have that much transportation, they don’t have so many ways to get access, just to drive to CVS or Walgreens or Walmart, so they need something in the community that is very close them and to which they have access, “said Dr. Darius Russell, manager and owner of the pharmacy.
The pharmacies closest to your company are chains and are a 30-minute walk away.
Russell said that being in the community also offers him the chance to establish relationships and trust with his patients; a relationship that can help with the COVID-19 vaccination effort.
“Having a pharmacy in the area really helps to build that trust, so people don’t feel like I’m going to a big conglomerate. In fact, I’m going to a place where I know they are going to tell me the truth, they are going to tell me really what I need to hear, “said Russell.
Although pharmacists like Russell may be in a good position to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, they are not yet part of the vaccination process in North Carolina.
“They are a little frustrated because they feel they could be making a difference in their community if they had access to the vaccine,” explained Dr. Penny Shelton, executive director of the North Carolina Pharmacists Association.
Just as there are levels to be vaccinated, the state has levels on who can deliver the vaccine and when. Currently, pharmacists occupy the 4th place, a position that many wait until February or March to administer the doses.
“The biggest challenge at the moment is supply. Having local pharmacies, whether rural, suburban or urban, assisting in vaccinating patients with supplies and having that supply allocated at the moment is insufficient to support wider distribution in our state and not just in North Carolina and other states as well, “said Shelton .
Kiser has worked with other health experts across the state and points to West Virginia as a model for North Carolina.
With more than 80% of its doses administered, West Virginia ranks first in the United States in vaccine distribution, according to the latest vaccine data from the CDC. More than 11% of state residents over 16 have already received the vaccine; one percent beaten only by Alaska.
Kiser and others say that much of the state’s success is because they have given pharmacists, especially rural ones, vaccines to distribute.
“When you’re going to focus on older adults and you really want to improve access, relying on pharmacies should be a top priority in my mind, because there are already people in every community in our state who usually have relationships with their pharmacist and your community pharmacist, “said Gina Upchurch, executive director of PharmAssist Senior.
His non-profit organization helps seniors in Durham pay, access and manage drugs. Now, like many others, the group has become a resource for vaccinating residents.
Upchurch said that while it is a waiting game everywhere, it is even more difficult to get answers in rural areas.
“I would like my parents to live in Durham County now. My parents live in Rockingham, ”she said. “I’m depending on the community pharmacist to get the vaccine … They feel comfortable with him, he goes to the parking lot and gives it to them and it works well for my parents, but it’s just a waiting game.”
Russell and Bowman also playing the waiting game; undergoing intensive training, learning the state’s processes while hoping to get the doses allocated soon.
Both pharmacists said they had to invest time and money to become a future vaccine center. Many independent rural pharmacies that ABC11 called said they would not offer the vaccine.
“It wasn’t just, ‘Okay, I want the vaccine, so send it to me,'” explained Bowman. “We had to go through a lot of training and a lot of processes to make sure that we were prepared to go through it properly and that was important. I wanted to be a place where people could come and get vaccinated.”
Shelton said that while North Carolina waits for more supplies, several groups in communities are brainstorming creative partnerships to help expand access to the vaccine.
Earlier this month, the state health department announced the allocation of R $ 2.5 million to offer free transportation to vaccination sites.
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