Difference between vaccine locations? Hospital vs drug store/community center/ grocery stores

greg123 wrote: ↑ Since there is plenty of locations with appointments that offer Pfizer, is there a reason one would choose to take the shot at the hospital vs community center vs drug store?

assuming :
Hospital - nurses and some doctors
Community center - nurses
Drug store - pharmacists?

You maybe surprised that when you arrive to get your pfizer shot you are told its a moderna shot. Ontario is using both interchangeably depending on supply. I believe that deliveries of moderna are much higher than pfizer for the next couple weeks and pfizer are being held for 12y - 18y old group.

greg123 wrote: ↑ Since there is plenty of locations with appointments that offer Pfizer, is there a reason one would choose to take the shot at the hospital vs community center vs drug store?

assuming :
Hospital - nurses and some doctors
Community center - nurses
Drug store - pharmacists?

There are already several threads in this the HEALTH & WELLNESS FORUM on the vaccines, vaccine distribution, and mass vax centres vs pharmacies.

But to answer these specific questions …

It is my understanding that only medically certified individuals can give the shots … so it’s gotta be a Dr, Nurse, or a Pharmacist (at least in Ontario)

Drug Store are still primarily distributing AstraZeneca (ease of storage / handling)

Community Centres, Arenas, etc where Mass Vax Clinics are held is either Pfizer or Moderna for the most part. Which vaccine you get is dependent on various factors including age, your health status, and what you got if you already got Shot # 1

Both of these things are establish based on whichever Booking Method you use to make your vaccine appointments

Hospital Vax Clinics tend to be not for the masses in most communities … they are for specialized cases / individuals … and often need to be arranged thru your Dr / GP / Specialist MD directly (hospitals literally are trying to limit their exposure to people in general during the pandemic … hence why they are not being used as mass vax locations. They have enough to worry about already)

Personally … we’ve got all our shots (2 each) thru the Ontario Booking System & Mass Vax sites … in all cases the person giving the shot introduced themselves. Of our 4 shots … 2 were given by Doctors … one a Surgeon, and 2 were given by Nurses … one retired, and volunteering during this Public Health Crisis.

Our first shots were Pfizer… our second shots were Moderna. We did not know ahead of time which we would be getting.
Ontario is using a JUST IN TIME DELIVERY SYSTEM (which I think is the case now for most Provinces)
Which means as some of the vaccines are compatible … when you book your 2nd appointment … the booking system shows you sites that will offer you a compatible vaccine … but you won’t know what it is til you get there.

Suggest you read these other 2 threads for more info
Mixing Pfizer & Moderna MRNA Vaccines = mixing-pfizer-moderna-mrna-vaccines-2470694/9
And
cornell-community-centre-markham-pfizer ... th-2475592

Thanks for all the replies, from my reading so far it seems like most people are opting for pharmacy/grocery stores via booking system since it shows which vaccine is on hand vs mass centers/hospitals showing both available. So it’s really a crap shoot unless they give you a choice.

greg123 wrote: ↑ Thanks for all the replies, from my reading so far it seems like most people are opting for pharmacy/grocery stores via booking system since it shows which vaccine is on hand vs mass centers/hospitals showing both available. So it’s really a crap shoot unless they give you a choice.

A lot depends on how old you are
The pharmacies (stand alone or at grocery stores) primarily stock AZ

A vaccine that has better results / less issues for those in the mid range years … vs younger or older

PointsHubby wrote: ↑ The pharmacies (stand alone or at grocery stores) primarily stock AZ

Hasn't been that way for at least two months now. Every participating pharmacy in Ontario administers either Pfizer or Moderna in addition to AstraZeneca (and AZ can only be used as a 2nd dose for those who got it as first dose).

greg123 wrote: ↑ Thanks for all the replies, from my reading so far it seems like most people are opting for pharmacy/grocery stores via booking system since it shows which vaccine is on hand vs mass centers/hospitals showing both available. So it’s really a crap shoot unless they give you a choice.

Why are you shopping for a vaccine? The best one for you is the first one offered to you.

As for grocery stores/pharmacy, they are not 100% either. A local pharmacy to me is advertising Pfizer online but has the Moderna when you go in. The pharmacist was talking to an elderly couple about their shot and the couple was PISSED that they couldn't get the 'good' Pfizer shot. They were told repeatedly by the pharmacist that the Moderna was just as good, that with their age they needed to get their second shot and that if they waited there was no telling when they would be able to get the Pfizer shot. The couple left without getting the shot....

greg123 wrote: ↑ Since there is plenty of locations with appointments that offer Pfizer, is there a reason one would choose to take the shot at the hospital vs community center vs drug store?

assuming :
Hospital - nurses and some doctors
Community center - nurses
Drug store - pharmacists?

There's no difference. Go get the shot wherever you can get it. Everyone administering the shot (doctor, nurse, pharmacist, paramedic, etc) has the professional training necessary to do it and it is well within their scope of practice.

The public health and hospital clinics have substantially more supply than the pharmacies do, so it's much easier to get a walk-in/same day/next day appointment with them than with a pharmacy. But if your local pharmacy has it in stock, that's fine too. Especially for a first dose, just go.

Already got my first Pfizer shot, and back then it was take what you can get at the earliest slot you can find or line up for hours. But now there are more choices with excessive supply and availability on every corner.

greg123 wrote: ↑ Already got my first Pfizer shot, and back then it was take what you can get at the earliest slot you can find or line up for hours. But now there are more choices with excessive supply and availability on every corner.

Supply was an issue around June 23 until Last week.

Age group 12-17 will be done with 2nd dose soon. News say that we are around 50% fully vaccinated. And yes, more choices in upcoming weeks. Hopefully, you can get the 2nd dose of Pfizer before the government announce age group 12 and under is eligible for Pfizer. That will probably happen maybe around Fall (sept-oct) as they are still doing trials (according to the news).

I got my flu shot and first dose of the COVID vaccine from a mass immunization clinic organized by Toronto Public Health. Stupidly, for my second dose I wasn't patient enough to wait for my appointment with TPH, so I booked an earlier appointment with a pharmacy. Never again will I choose a pharmacy over a mass vaccine clinic or hospital if we are required to get a third booster shot at a later date. They are just not as organized and professionally run from my experience. The small pharmacy was packed that day with little to no physical distancing and not enough employees working to help control the crowd. They jammed all their appointments for one day because the vaccines need to used up at once or they go to waste. Also, the pharmacist wasn't as skilled and trained in giving shots as the 2 different nurses I got from TPH working the mass vaccine clinics. The pharmacist even made me bleed and forgot to offer me a friggin' bandage. I had to ask him for one after he didn't see the blood rolling down my arm. Was clueless about getting me bandage. Go figure!

Mr_Fanta wrote: ↑ I got my flu shot and first dose of the COVID vaccine from a mass immunization clinic organized by Toronto Public Health. Stupidly, for my second dose I wasn't patient enough to wait for my appointment with TPH, so I booked an earlier appointment with a pharmacy. Never again will I choose a pharmacy over a mass vaccine clinic or hospital if we are required to get a third booster shot at a later date. They are just not as organized and professionally run from my experience. The small pharmacy was packed that day with little to no physical distancing and not enough employees working to help control the crowd. They jammed all their appointments for one day because the vaccines need to used up at once or they go to waste. Also, the pharmacist wasn't as skilled and trained in giving shots as the 2 different nurses I got from TPH working the mass vaccine clinics. The pharmacist even made me bleed and forgot to offer me a friggin' bandage. I had to ask him for one after he didn't see the blood rolling down my arm. Was clueless about getting me bandage. Go figure!

Out of curiosity was this pharmacy Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall or a mom and pops pharmacy?

^ It was a smaller local pharmacy not part of the big chains. Perhaps these major drug stores would have been a better and positive experience for me? Not willing to find out for next time.

greg123 wrote: ↑ Since there is plenty of locations with appointments that offer Pfizer, is there a reason one would choose to take the shot at the hospital vs community center vs drug store?

assuming :
Hospital - nurses and some doctors
Community center - nurses
Drug store - pharmacists?

Hospital - nurses and some doctors --> similar to mass clinic, you won't know which shot until arrival. Mostly administrate by RN/RPN/student nurse.

Community center - nurses --> depending on location. Some location has long wait time (Pickering, Vaughan, and Maple), expecting 30+ to an hour of wait time. Some were in and out. I got mine at Richmond Green, which less than 20 minutes including 15 minutes wait after injection. Shot administrate by MD/RN/PRN/student nurse/pharmacist

Drug store - pharmacists? --> much less crowded environment (except for Costco). You are generally get what is promised for your shot. Wait time is hit and miss depending on how busy the location is.

With a lot of location available for vaccination now, I would probably pick the most convenient location

It all comes down to factors of distance, convenience, and luck/availability. I do know all the options are different in every province.

Your public health system would probably have the most robust supply. I was due for a second dose at the end of June. Pharmacies were cancelling booked appointments since they don’t know if it’s actually coming until the day before. There was a shortage of Pfizer and excess Moderna. I called more than dozens of pharmacies who were all fully booked.

I fortunately lucked out with what seems to be a canceled appointment through Alberta Health Services. Got my second dose Pfizer next day. A medical student gave me the shot. I was there 10 minutes early and was done given the shot by the time of my appointment. Very impressive running of things on their part. Only thing is the medical student was reluctant to give me a bandage even though it was slightly bleeding, saying they don’t usually give bandages….

Only thing is this is the closest public health Covid vaccine facility in Edmonton, and it is 10 minutes or 8km away. Other AHS Covid vaccine facilities are about 20-30 minutes away by car all in different directions. Compare that to a pharmacy, where there are probably dozens of pharmacies administering Covid vaccines within a 5km radius.

In my experience, booking is the hardest part. For some pharmacies I didn’t receive a wait list notification until nearly a month later. Pharmacy booking is an absolute mess since every pharmacy has their own booking system in Alberta. Some phone only, some a mix, some online only…. Even available appointments go away in a flash.

Keep checking and refreshing the booking portals for your chance. Weigh out all your options for the best available option.

One reason to not choose a pharmacy is some pharmacists just aren’t experienced enough for administering injections. Even at the same pharmacy the level of injection administration experience would differ between pharmacists. Even with the same person administering the injection, sometimes it hurts and sometimes it doesn’t. It is random.

I wouldn’t necessarily say smaller independent pharmacies staff worse pharmacists. my family and I had the worst pharmacy experiences at certain bigger corporate pharmacies (Costco, SDM…)