Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Collier Drug Rolls Out Vaccine
FARMINGTON — Collier Drug, with local stores in Farmington and Prairie Grove, is one of several pharmacies in Washington County partnering with the state to provide covid-19 vaccinations to residents, according to Lauren Underwood, human resources manager.
Underwood said Collier Drug Stores is giving the Pfizer vaccine through appointment only at its eight retail stores and eligible people can sign up by emailing vaccine@collierdrug.com.
The pharmacy currently is giving the vaccine to the first group of eligible participants in Phase 1A, which includes healthcare workers, first responders and those at longterm care facilities, and also will be giving the vaccine to teachers,
child care workers and those 70 and over in Phase 1B.
Others in Phase 1B and Phase 1C can sign up to be placed on a waiting list through the vaccine email.
Underwood said Collier Drug is the hub for the Pfizer drug and for now is receiving doses of the vaccines on a weekly basis from the Arkansas Department of Health.
The company has a deep freezer on-site at the Dickson Street location in Fayetteville that is able to keep the medicine at -80 degrees Celsius. From this location, the Pfizer vaccine is distributed to other Collier Drug stores, as well as other pharmacies and entities that are using this specific vaccine, Underwood said.
The Pfizer vaccination requires two shots for the full effect, 21 days apart. Underwood said patients are required to stay on-site after the vaccination for at least 15 minutes to make sure they do not have any adverse reactions.
“We want to make sure they are back to themselves before they leave,” she said.
Among all its stores, Underwood said Collier has times available for shots almost every day, including the weekends. The business also has participated in largescale vaccination clinics for health care workers. During one clinic, several pharmacies vaccinated 600 health care workers at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. At a clinic in Centerton, Collier Drug vaccinated 200 health care workers, she said.
Now that Gov. Asa Hutchinson has opened up some of Phase 1B, Collier will start coordinating with school districts on giving the vaccinations, Underwood said last week. She said the company is working on the process now.
How quickly the company is able to move through 1B will depend on the number of doses Collier receives, Underwood said.
“As we’re capable and able, we’ll go through the list,” she added.
Underwood said the pharmacies are able to keep up with their everyday work as well as give vaccines because of volunteers and people willing to work overtime, either to give the shots or help in a support role. The company also has moved staff around to help with the vaccinations.
At first pharmacists and fourth-year pharmacists were the only ones allowed to give the vaccines at the pharmacies, Underwood said. The state health department now has opened it up to other professionals, such as nurses.
Currently, Collier is vaccinating a total of about 200 people each week from all its locations. This could increase as more doses become available, she said.
After the vaccines are pulled from the freezer and then prepared for use, there is about a six-hour window for using all of those doses, Underwood said.
At the end of the day, if pharmacies have vaccines that still need to be used, Underwood said she will look at future appointments to see if anyone can come in immediately and if not, she then will go to the wait list.
“We’re making sure we use all those doses,” Underwood said.
She expressed her appreciation to Collier customers and their patience as the pharmacies work through the vaccination process.