WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Tuesday is National Pharmacists Day and they’ve been working on the frontlines throughout the pandemic.
According to the state, pharmacies will have access to the COVID-19 vaccine and will be able to vaccinate their customers.
“Our pharmacy team has been working hard to make things as smooth as possible for all the patients who want to get the vaccine,” Westfield Stop&Shop Pharmacy Manager, Mark Butera told 22News.
Pharmacists across the state, including Butera and his team, are now preparing to distribute and administer the COVID-19 vaccine once available.
“We’re working on a scheduling app for the patients so to minimize the amount of stress and chaos. Preparing for storage preparation. Just preparing everyone mentally for how it’s going to go,” Butera continued.
They have to anticipate distributing the vaccine to potentially hundreds of people a day from one location. Along with pharmacists, vaccinations may be administered by pharmacy interns, certified pharmacy techs under the direct supervision of a primary care provider, according to the state’s COVID-19 information.
“I’m excited to help out. I know everybody in our division is excited,” Butera said when asked what the anticipation is like leading up to getting vaccines.
Butera said that initially working through the pandemic was scary but he was happy to step up. The state says once the vaccine is widely available you can check with your local pharmacy to see if they have doses.
