The Ministry of Health and Wellness has welcome the partnership with pharmacies to make COVID-19 vaccines available to the public free of charge. People’s Discount Pharmacy Ltd recently commenced its new initiative with the Ministry of Health to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccines to its clients.
National Immunization Manager Tecla Jn Baptiste applauded the initiative and says this provides a great opportunity for people to access vaccines in a comfortable environment. “This is really a partnership between the Ministry of Health and the People’s Discount Pharmacy. For us at the Ministry of Health and also the owner of People’s Discount Pharmacy, it is important that vaccines become available and accessible to our population. For them, it is about people accessing vaccines in a familiar environment, one that they always come to access other medications. For us, we think it is a brilliant idea. We always welcome those public-private partnerships; we think it is an excellent avenue to reach out to the people.”
Owner of People’s Discount Pharmacy Ltd Rosemary Michel says she is pleased that pharmacies can play a great part in healthcare and encourages people to get vaccinated. “I want to say from a Pharmacist point of view that all medications have side effects. The simple Aspirin that people take to save their lives can create a lot of problems otherwise. So we are encouraging people, it is important to take the vaccine, it is not only for you, it is for your family cause you can pick up something out there and take it home, and so we encourage people to take vaccine, it is going to help solve the kind of problems we are experiencing now.”
The COVID-19 vaccination drive at the People’s Discount Pharmacy Ltd will take place every Thursday at the St. Louis Street Branch from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The Ministry of Health has also encouraged other pharmacies around the island to come on board and
make vaccines available to the public.