“It’s an insult to our profession” says local pharmacist

The decision of the HSE to only permit local pharmacies to administer the one-shot Johnson & Johnson (Jannsen) vaccine has been described as “an insult to our profession” by one local pharmacist.

Tullamore pharmacist, Rose Finlay, owner of the Rose Finlay’s totalhealth Pharmacy on Main Street, said the decision to restrict the vaccine to the over-50 age group “makes no sense whatsoever” as the vast majority of this cohort are already vaccinated.

“If the over-50’s are not already fully vaccinated, most of them have already got one dose, so it is a disgrace for pharmacists who are fully qualified professionals, and have engaged in all the training, to be told they can only administer the vaccine to this age group,” she says.

“If the over-50’s are not already fully vaccinated, most of them have already got one dose, so it is a disgrace for pharmacists who are fully qualified professionals, and have engaged in all the training, to be told they can only administer the vaccine to this age group,” she says.

The Tullamore pharmacist says she has been getting “lots of queries” about the Janssen vaccine since it was announced on Monday of this week that local pharmacies can administer it to their customers, but she adds that “none of the queries have been from the over-50’s.”

She makes the point that there is a huge cohort of people in younger age groups who would love to be able to avail of the one-shot Janssen vaccine in their local pharmacy, and she has been getting numerous phonecalls from younger people who “desperately want to be vaccinated” for a whole variety of reasons.

However, she points out that, under the current guidelines, she is not allowed to administer the Janssen vaccine to anyone under 50 which she describes as “a ludicrous situation”. “Under the guidelines I am not allowed to administer the one-shot Janssen vaccine to anyone under 50, which is just a ludicrous situation,” she says. Eight pharmacies across Offaly have been given the go-ahead to administer the Janssen vaccine, and so far the uptake appears to be slow in the majority of pharmacies, apart from Quinn’s Pharmacy in Edenderry, where 11 patients in the over-50 age group are due to receive their one-shot vaccine in the coming days.

Pharmacist Michelle Molyneaux said “a lot of people have been coming forward” in Edenderry in the over-50 age bracket who have not already been vaccinated for one reason or another.

“We are hoping to get the Pfizer vaccine by the end of the month, or early next month, and that will mean we can open up our vaccinations to younger age groups, and we would anticipate many more people coming forward at that stage,” she said.

Quinn’s Pharmacy, which is located in Edenderry’s Granary Court, plans to vaccinate patients in groups of five in order to ensure there is no wastage of vaccines once the vials are opened.

At the Aidan Walsh Allcare Pharmacy in Ferbane, a spokesperson said the demand for the Janssen vaccine is not from the over-50 age group, but from much younger people.

“We had had plenty of enquiries alright, but very little uptake as most of the over-50s are already vaccinated, and we have younger age groups crying out to be vaccinated for many different reasons."

Meanwhile, in Birr, one of the two pharmacies licenced to administer the Janssen vaccines, Butlers Pharmacy on Main Street, said they are not taking any bookings from patients for the vaccine as they have not yet received any supply from the HSE. “We will not be taking any bookings until we know what we are getting and when we are getting it” said a spokesperson, who added that they had received “some enquiries.”

The HSE list of pharmacies in Offaly providing the one-shot Janssen vaccine for over-50’s is as follows:

Aidan Walsh Allcare Pharmacy, The Medical Hall, Ferbane.

Tel: 090 6454321

Butler’s Pharmacy, Main Street Birr. Tel: 057 9120189

Carragher Pharmacy, High Street, Tullamore.

Tel: 057 9321128

Clonminch Pharmacy, Clonminch Road, Tullamore. Tel: 057 9324822

Peter Fox Pharmacy, O’Connell Street Birr. Tel: 057 9120166

Quinn’s Pharmacy, Beech Unit, Granary Court, Edenderry.

Tel: 046 9773005

Rose Finlay’s totalhealth Pharmacy, Main Street, Tullamore. Tel: 057 9360324

The Medical Hall Limited, 56 J.K.L. Street Edenderry.

Tel: 046 9731345

Anyone wishing to avail of a vaccine must book their appointment directly with the pharmacy of their choice.