The ABC11 I team, in collaboration with ABC’s proprietary television stations, discovered 45% of the state’s no-pharmacy zip codes, creating multiple “pharmacy deserts”.
North Carolina has an average of three pharmacies every 10 square miles. However, more than 90% of counties across the state report even less.
Wake County is home to four times the number of pharmacies in Granville County, where Gary Bowman has run professional pharmacies for nearly 30 years.
“We are proud to know who our customers are, to call them by their name, we are the same people who go out to eat with them, who go to church with them, who go to league ball games with them.” , Bowman explained.
As an established and trusted health professional, Bowman said people now turn to him for advice and news about the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Oh, a lot of calls. Do you have the vaccine? Do you want to have the vaccine? When can I get it? Can I get on a list?” He said.
It is one of nine counties in the county with more than 60,000 residents.
Bowman said that over the years, two other independent pharmacies have closed.
Stephanie Kiser, pharmacist and director of rural health at UNC, said she feared more closures.
“When we look at nearby pharmacies and see people who have to travel extra distances to access a pharmacy that feels unfamiliar and often doesn’t foster the trust of that provider-patient relationship that they would like to have,” he explained.
Closures in rural areas also lead to greater differences in access between urban and rural communities.
With 46 pharmacies every 10 square miles, Mecklenburg County has the most pharmacies in the state. Although Mecklenburg County is also one of the most populated areas, it has 2,300 times more pharmacies in the same space compared to Northampton County, where there are only two pharmacies per 1,000 square miles.
Although these disparities have existed for decades, today they assume more terrible consequences.
“We really recognize the value of these pharmacies in these small communities that may be the closest place to getting a vaccine,” Kiser said.
Transportation and distance to a vaccine can be one more barrier for people who are not 100% on board with the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Driving through the county for some older adults is a very long journey, they don’t want to make the trip,” Kiser explained. “The idea of getting in the car and having to drive 20 miles can be a major deterrent.”
Unfortunately, these pharmaceutical deserts often exist in rural communities that host a larger population.
The ABC11 I-Team also discovered many of the pharmacy-free zip codes commonly found in communities with higher levels of poverty and where Latino and black residents live. A finding that means the COVID-19 vaccine will be harder to obtain for the poorest, black, and Latino residents; the same communities already disproportionately affected by the virus.
Russell’s Pharmacy and Shoppe opened in East Durham two years ago to cover this exact need.
“You’re seeing a historically marginalized area, there are a lot of people who don’t have as much transportation, don’t have so many ways to get there, you just have to go to CVS or Walgreens or Walmart, so they need something in the community very close to which they have access, ”said Dr. Darius Russell, manager and owner of the pharmacy.
The nearest pharmacies to your business are chains and are a 30 minute walk away.
Russell said being in the community also offers him the opportunity to relate and trust his patients; a relationship that can help in the COVID-19 vaccination effort.
“Having a pharmacy in the area really helps build that trust so people don’t have the feeling of going to a big conglomerate. In fact, I’m going to a place where I know they’re going to tell me the truth, they’re really going to tell me what I need to hear. Russell said.
While 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’re a little frustrated because they feel like they might be changing their community if they had access to the vaccine,” said Dr. Penny Shelton, executive director of the North Carolina Pharmacists Association.
Just as there are levels for vaccination, the state has levels on who can provide the vaccine and when. Pharmacists currently rank fourth, a position many expect until February or March to administer doses.
“The biggest challenge right now is supply. Having local pharmacies, whether rural, suburban or urban, that help vaccinate patients who have the supply and have that supply assigned right now is insufficient to support more distribution. broad for our state and not just for North Carolina and other states as well, ”Shelton said.
Kiser has been working with other health experts across the state and is targeting West Virginia as a model for North Carolina.
With more than 80% of its doses administered, West Virginia ranks first in the U.S. for vaccine distribution, according to the latest vaccine data from the CDC. More than 11% of state residents over the age of 16 have received the vaccine; a percentage surpassed only by Alaska.
Kiser and others say much of the state’s success is due to the fact that they gave vaccines to pharmacists, especially in rural areas, to distribute.
“When you’re focusing on older adults and you really want to improve access, depending on the pharmacies it should have been a basic thing in my mind because there are already people in every community in our state who often have a relationship with their pharmacist and their community pharmacist, ”said Gina Upchurch, executive director of Senior PharmAssist.
Its non-profit organization helps Durham seniors pay for, access, and manage medications. 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 harder to get answers in rural areas.
“I want my parents to live in Durham County right now. My parents live in Rockingham,” he said. “I depend on the community pharmacist to get the vaccine … They’re comfortable with it, it’ll come out in the parking lot and be given to them, and that works well for my parents, but it’s just a waiting game.”
Russell and Bowman also play the waiting game; undergoing intensive training, learning the processes of the state while hoping to obtain assigned doses soon.
Both pharmacists said they had to invest time and money to become a future vaccination site. Many rural independent pharmacies called ABC11 said they would not offer the vaccine.
“It wasn’t just‘ Okay, I want the vaccine, so send it to me, ’” Bowman explained. “We’ve had to go through a lot of training and a lot of processes to make sure we’re prepared to do it properly and that was important. . I wanted it to be a place where people could come and get vaccinated. “
Shelton said while North Carolina is waiting for more supplies, several community groups are brainstorming about creative partnerships to help expand access to the vaccine.
Earlier this month, the state health department announced the allocation of $ 2.5 million to provide free transportation to vaccination sites.
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