One Hanson Pharmacy has been an integral part of Virginia vaccination program since the beginning of the vaccination effort. We have vaccinated over 700 Virginians and counting. We believe One Hanson Pharmacy will continue to assist in providing vaccination whenever we are offered the opportunity to do so.
Vaccine hesitancy is real and we all need to encourage our neighbors, friends, and family to get vaccinated. As per experts, we can reach herd immunity if 70% of the country is vaccinated. This means that about 210 million Americans have to be vaccinated before we can arrive at herd immunity. Folks, this is not an easy task given the issues that we currently face with supply and resources of vaccination personnel.
At One Hanson Pharmacy we believe that authorities can double up their efforts with the “Kitchen sink” approach to get more people engaged in vaccination. Sometimes the hesitancy or stumbling block to vaccination may be due to convenience. If an 80 year old person has to rely on someone for transportation to a vaccination site, that can pose a problem should they have to travel in excess of 2 hours to get there. Also if the strategy is just to have mass vaccination sites only, that may not be convenient for some. Having to stand in line for some time in order to get vaccinated can turn some people off.
What we have noticed is flexibility can be a key in getting more people vaccinated in a short period of time. Imagine, if all private doctor offices and clinics, small and large independent pharmacies in various parts of the state, and mass immunization centers including churches have access to provide vaccinations. That would be convenient to reach most people. All we are saying is to engage the resources that are available in order to meet this complex covid vaccination process. A simple solution to a complex medical issue.
I hope authorities that make decisions are listening and hopefully we can all help in getting to Herd Immunity.
Article written by Dr. Daniel Darfour RPh, PharmD.
Office Manager and Clinical pharmacist at One Hanson Pharmacy.
