New University of Waterloo research identifies “vaccination deserts” in parts of Northern and provincial Ontario and in predominantly French-speaking areas. These areas have little or no access to pharmacist-administered vaccination sites for COVID vaccines or flu vaccine.
The researchers used provincial and Statistics Canada data to determine where pharmacists work versus where Ontarians live. They found that most community pharmacists authorized to administer injections work in urban areas of southern Ontario, confirming a large geographic disparity.
“Our biggest realization is that there are many communities that have no local access to a pharmacy at all,” said Dr. Sherilyn Houle, a professor at the Waterloo School of Pharmacy and co-author of the study. “While medications can be delivered remotely and virtual care can be used for off-site consultations, access to vaccinations will need a more innovative approach.”
As community pharmacies become preferred locations for vaccinations, access to pharmacies continues to be difficult for people in northern communities and rural areas.
“Reaching these communities of people will require innovative ideas, including mobile vaccination clinics and additional training for pharmacists located in these areas,” Hole said.
These findings have immediate and long-term public health applications, as the ongoing pandemic and flu season mean vaccinations are more important than ever.
“We need to understand where the gaps remain and plan accordingly to provide seasonal services to hard-to-reach communities, and hopefully encourage practicing pharmacists in those areas to receive vaccination training if they haven’t already,” Hole said.
There is an additional restriction for the primarily French-speaking population of Ontario. In areas where at least 25 percent of the population speaks French, there are not enough French-speaking pharmacists to serve those areas.
Most French-speaking pharmacists practice in areas with the smallest French-speaking population, with many of the larger French-speaking populations located in “vaccination deserts”.
“The landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years and a shift has occurred as pharmacies are increasingly relied upon as providers of vaccinations. However, pharmacists cannot meet these needs for all communities. Without a pharmacy, many services cannot be provided,” said Hole.
Policymakers and health professionals must be creative when addressing these issues, as solutions that work in urban centers do not necessarily work for all Ontarians, especially in rural and remote regions.
The study, Identifying Vaccination Deserts: Availability and Distribution of Licensed Pharmacists to Administer Injections in Ontario, co-authored by Houle, Patrick Timoney, Nancy M. Waite and Alain Gauthier, was a collaboration between the University of Waterloo and Laurentian University. The study was recently published in the Canadian Pharmacists Journal.
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