How Pharmacies Can Protect the Communities They Serve During COVID-19

Pharmacy Times^® interviewed Benjamin McNabb, PharmD, the owner of Love Oak Pharmacy, about how pharmacies can protect the communities they serve during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when reopening or staying open across the country. The discussion includes McNabb’s primary concerns when approaching reopening his pharmacy and how he plans to continue to support his pharmacy’s ability to stay open while COVID-19 is still present.

McNabb noted that a primary concern regarding his community’s safety going forward is the reduction in vaccination rates, something that is occurring across the country. He said, “It's a big concern of mine that patients are not getting their co-infection vaccines like flu and pneumonia shots. So we need to be very proactive this season, and we need to use whatever data tools we have available so that we can practically call patients and say, hey, you are due for pneumonia vaccines or flu vaccines, and we need to manage that to prevent complications with COVID-19.”

McNabb also discussed how the staff of his pharmacy has been responding to the reopening process and whether customers have been amenable to following and adapting to stricter guidelines when accessing the pharmacy’s services.