Photo: Collier Drug Stores
Since the first two COVID-19 vaccines were approved for use in the US in late December, there have been plenty of questions around who can get vaccinated, how to get vaccinated, and where to get vaccinated around the country.
In Fayetteville, the answers to those questions are health care workers, workers in education, and residents 70 and older can be vaccinated at the moment. Those people are being vaccinated either through mass clinics organized by their employers, or through one of a handful of community pharmacies in the state.
In Fayetteville, the list of pharmacies currently giving the vaccine include Medical Arts Pharmacy, Heartland Pharmacy, and Collier Drug Stores, each of which are currently taking appointments for the initial priority groups we described above.
The pharmacies are also taking names for their wait lists for the vaccine, all three pharmacies taking names through the 1-C priority group as outlined by the state.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson last month outlined the first three phases of the vaccination plan in the state.
The first group, Phase 1-A, began on Dec. 14, and includes health care workers including hospital employees along with workers in primary care, urgent care, college and university health centers, K-12 health clinics and school nurses, dental clinics, pharmacies, home health, private care/personal care, hospice care, dialysis centers, corrections officers, and blood donation centers along with EMS, firefighters, and law enforcement officials that serve as first responders. Long-term facility residents and staffs are also included in the first group.
The second group, deemed Phase 1-B, would begin receiving vaccinations on Jan. 18. That group includes individuals 70 and older, along with teachers and school staff, food and agricultural workers, firefighters and police officers not included in 1-A, manufacturing workers, grocery store workers, public transit workers, child care workers, U.S. Postal Service workers, and essential government workers. Hutchinson estimate the second group, which includes more than 400,000 individuals, would be completed by the end of March.
The Phase 1-C group would begin receiving vaccines sometime around April. This group would include people aged 65-69, people 16-64 with high-risk medical conditions, and workers in other industries including transportation and logistics, water and wastewater, food service, shelter and housing, public safety, finance, IT and communication, energy, media, and public health.
Despite all this information, there has been plenty of confusion about the vaccine distribution process. On Wednesday, Collier Drug Store posted some FAQs about some of the most common questions they are receiving about the vaccine at the moment, and we have shared that information below.
FAQ posted by Collier Drug Store online on Wednesday, Jan. 27
Q. Do you know when you will be getting more vaccine?
A. Our supply is currently determined on a week by week basis. We do not know when our supply will increase again but we will let you know as we receive updates.
Q. How do I get on the waitlist?
A. Please email us at [email protected] to get on our waitlist. Include your name, date of birth, phone number, and which group you are in, including subgroups. If you cannot email us and do not have someone who can help you get an email to us, you can call one of our locations and we will add you to the list manually.
Q. How do I know if I am on the wait list?
A. If you have emailed us and received a confirmation email back or you have left your information with us via a phone call, you are on the wait list for your group. If we need to clarify anything to determine which group you are in, we will respond with those questions. Otherwise, you will not hear back from us until we have worked down the wait list to your name.
Q. Should I let you know if I got my vaccine elsewhere?
A. Yes, please email us at [email protected] to let us know you received the vaccine elsewhere. That will free up a spot for someone else sooner at one of our locations.
Q. Can I still use the scheduling website or how will I be contacted once it is time for my appointment?
A. We are now manually booking all appointments and will either email you or call you once we have reached your name on the wait list. We had to turn the booking website off to the general public since the link was shared multiple times to people who are not authorized to receive their vaccine yet.
Q. Where should I go to get my second dose?
A. The pharmacy or hospital that administered the first dose should have received (or will receive) vaccine and supplies to take care of your second dose. You need to return to that same pharmacy or hospital for your second dose.
Q. Do you have leftover doses at the end of the day? If so, how can I be on the call list for those?
A. On a rare occasion, we do have an extra dose at the end of the day due to a rescheduled or cancelled appointment. We are working down our wait lists to call in patients for those last minute doses. We do not have a separate list for those ‘extra’ doses.
