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The ABC11 I-Team, in partnership with ABC-owned television stations, found that 45% of zip codes across the state do not have a drugstore, creating multiple “drugstore deserts”.
North Carolina has an average of three pharmacies every 10 square miles. However, more than 90 percent of the state’s counties report even less.
Wake County is home to four times the number of pharmacies in Granville County where Gary Bowman has led professional pharmacy for almost 30 years.
“We take pride in knowing who our customers are, to call them by name, we are the same people who go out to eat with them, who go to church with them, who go to little league games with them. “Bowman explained.
As an established and trusted medical professional, Bowman said people are now turning to him for advice and news on the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Oh, a lot of calls.” Do you have the vaccine? Are you going to get the vaccine? When can I get it? Can I be placed on a list? “, He said.
It is one of the nine pharmacies in the county with over 60,000 residents.
Bowman said that over the years, two other independent pharmacies have closed.
Stephanie Kiser, pharmacist and director of rural health at UNC, said there were more fears of closures.
“When we see pharmacies closing and we see people having to travel longer distances to access a pharmacy that they don’t feel familiar with and that often does not foster the trust of that provider-patient relationship that they would like to have ”She explained.
Closures in rural areas also lead to wider access gaps between urban and rural communities.
With 46 pharmacies every 10 square miles, Mecklenburg County has the largest number of pharmacies in the state. Although Mecklenburg County is also one of the most populous areas, it has 2,300 times as many pharmacies in the same space as Northampton County where there are only two pharmacies per 1,000 square miles.
While these disparities have existed for decades, they now have more disastrous consequences.
“We really recognize the value of these pharmacies in these small communities which may be the closest place to get a vaccine,” Kiser said.
Transportation and distance to a vaccine can be another barrier for people who are not 100% on board the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Driving across the county for some old people that’s a really long trip, they don’t want to make the trip,” Kiser explained. “The thought of getting in the car and having to drive 20 miles can be a major deterrent.”
Unfortunately, these pharmacy deserts tend to exist in rural communities where an older population lives.
The ABC11 I-Team also discovered many non-pharmacy zip codes that are typically found in communities with higher levels of poverty and are home to Black and Latino residents. A discovery that means the COVID-19 vaccine will be harder to obtain for poorer residents, black and Latino; the same communities already disproportionately affected by the virus.
Russell’s Pharmacy and Shoppe opened in East Durham two years ago to meet exactly this need.
“You look at a historically marginalized area, there are a lot of people who don’t have that much transportation, they don’t have that many ways to get there, to get to CVS or Walgreens or Walmart, they therefore need something in the community that is very close to them that they have access to, ”said Dr Darius Russell, director and owner of the pharmacy.
The closest pharmacies to his business are both chain stores and a 30-minute walk away.
Russell said being in the community also gives him a chance to build relationships and trust his patients; a relationship that may aid in the COVID-19 vaccination effort.
“Having a pharmacy in the area really helps build that confidence so people don’t feel like I’m just going to a big conglomerate. I’m actually going to a place where I know they’re going to tell me the truth, they’re really going to tell me what I need to hear, ”Russell said.
While pharmacists like Russell may be in a good position to administer the COVID-19 vaccine, they are not yet part of the vaccination process in North Carolina.
“They’re a little frustrated because they feel they could make a difference in their community if they had access to the vaccine,” said Dr. Penny Shelton, executive director of the North Carolina Pharmacists Association.
Just as there are levels for getting vaccinated, the state has levels on who can provide the vaccine and when. Pharmacists currently rank 4th, a position that has a long wait until February or March to administer doses.
“The biggest challenge right now is procurement. It is having local pharmacies, whether you are rural, suburban or urban, helping to vaccinate patients with supply and allocation of this supply is currently insufficient to support wider distribution by our state and not just by North Carolina and other states as well, ”Shelton said.
Kiser has worked with other health experts across the state and points to West Virginia as the model for North Carolina.
With more than 80% of its doses administered, West Virginia is ranked first in the United States for vaccine distribution, according to the latest vaccine data from the CDC. More than 11% of state residents over 16 have received the vaccine; one percent beaten only by Alaska.
Kiser and others say a large part of the state’s success has been in giving vaccines to pharmacists, especially rural pharmacists.
“When you’re going to focus on the elderly and you really want to improve access, relying on pharmacies should have been kind of a priority in my mind, because there are already people in every community in our state who often have a relationship with their pharmacist and community pharmacist, ”said Gina Upchurch, Executive Director of Senior PharmAssist.
His non-profit organization helps Durham seniors pay for, access and manage medicines. Now, like many others, the group has become a resource for vaccinating residents.
Upchurch said that although it is a waiting game everywhere, it is even more difficult to get answers in rural areas.
“I wish my parents were living in County Durham right now. My parents live in Rockingham, ”she says. “I’m counting on their community pharmacist to get the vaccine … They’re comfortable with him, he’ll come out in the parking lot and give it to them and it works well for my parents but it’s just a game of waiting.
Russell and Bowman also play the waiting game; undergo intensive training, learn state processes while hoping to get allocated doses soon.
Both pharmacists said they need to invest time and money to become a future vaccination site. Many independent rural pharmacies called ABC11 have said they will not offer the vaccine.
“It wasn’t just, ‘Okay, I want the vaccine, so send it to me,’ Bowman explained. “We had to go through a lot of training and a lot of processes to make sure we were prepared to go through it properly and that was important. I wanted to be a site where people could come to get vaccinated.
Shelton said with North Carolina awaiting more supplies, several groups across communities are considering creative partnerships to help expand access to the vaccine.
Earlier this month, the state’s health department announced the allocation of $ 2.5 million to provide free transportation to vaccination sites.
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