As major pharmacy chains start rolling out the new COVID-19 vaccine, independent pharmacies report facing shipment delays, resulting in longer wait times for patient vaccinations, NBC News reported Sept. 5.
Neal Smoller, PharmD, owner of an independent pharmacy in Woodstock, N.Y., told the news outlet that although he received doses of the Moderna vaccine over the weekend, Pfizer's did not arrive until Sept. 4. There is no timeline for when shipments of the Novavax vaccine, which was recently authorized by the FDA, will be made available.
"We're big vaccinators, and it's still a chaotic mess for even us and trying to assuage everybody's fears [regarding availability]," Dr. Smoller said.
Other independent pharmacists who spoke to NBC News said delays are because of drug manufacturers and wholesalers prioritizing larger retail chains such as CVS and Walgreens, though Pfizer and Moderna pushed back on that claim.
While both drugmakers acknowledged that buying vaccines through wholesalers could slow down the process slightly, a spokesperson for Moderna said it is "on track with all of our commitments across channels."
Meanwhile, a Pfizer spokesperson said in a statement it has shipped and delivered "millions of doses."
Spokespeople for CVS and Walgreens reported having a sufficient supply of vaccines, according to NBC News.