Fairfield pharmacy receives 1,100 vaccines

FAIRFIELD - NuCara Pharmacy in Fairfield will host a COVID-19 vaccine clinic this weekend after receiving more than 1,100 Pfizer vaccines.

The pharmacy is working with Jefferson County Health Center and Jefferson County Public Health to offer the clinic Saturday and Sunday. NuCara received the large shipment of vaccines through the federal pharmacy program.

'It has been a slow process so far, but we are thrilled to be able to vaccinate so many on March 27 and March 28,” said Murphye Zane, manager of NuCara Pharmacy.

Eligible Iowans are asked to make an appointment online by visiting https://bit.ly/2NrQDff. The clinic will be in the Jefferson County Health Center. Patients are asked to enter in the McCreery Cancer Center entrance located on the southeast side of the hospital.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that members of the general public can begin receiving vaccines on April 5. However, since this clinic is before then, NuCara will follow the state's current guidelines on vaccine eligibility. The state has been vaccinating people 65 and older for a few months, and just recently opened vaccines to those under 65 with a health condition. Visit https://vaccinate.iowa.gov/eligibility/ to review eligibility requirements.

Zane said those who sign up for a vaccine appointment will be asked to attest to having a qualifying health condition, though they will not need to supply documentation to prove it.

Appointments are in five minute increments from 7 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. Saturday, and from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Zane said those who do not have access to the internet can sign up for an appointment by contacting the Fairfield Public Library at 641-472-6551. NuCara has made arrangements with the library so that its staff can assist patients in making an appointment and filling out the consent form.

Though the appointment lasts only five minutes, patients are asked to remain on site at least 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine so they can be monitored by health professionals in the event of a reaction. Zane recommended that people with a history of severe allergic reactions should plan on being monitored for 30 minutes after their vaccine.

People who sign up for a vaccine this weekend are asked to return for their second dose on the weekend of April 17-18. Zane said they will automatically receive the same time on the same day of the week as the appointment they made for this first clinic. Though the second dose of the Moderna vaccine is given 28 days after the first, since this clinic will use the Pfizer vaccine, the second dose will be 21 days after the first.

The Pfizer vaccine requires ultracold storage if it is being kept for a long period of time, but since NuCara will be administering the vaccine one or two days after the shipment arrives, it does not need to put the vaccines in ultracold storage.

When patients arrive for their vaccine, they must present their driver's license and insurance card. Though the vaccine is free to the patient, public health offices and pharmacies can charge an administrative fee to the patient's health insurance to cover the cost of their labor.

Because the vaccine is administered in the upper arm, patients are being asked to please dress accordingly or consider dressing in layers to allow staff to easily access the upper arm. Although the vaccine is free, patients still need to bring their insurance card with them to the appointment.

The staff at NuCara say they are excited to participate in vaccinating so many members of the community. Marni Adam, certified pharmacy technician at NuCara, has been recently trained to administer vaccines.

'We are excited and proud to continue to partner with our community in offering hope for brighter days without fear,” Adam said.

Deb Wood, certified pharmacy technician at NuCara Pharmacy, is ready to help vaccinate her community and remarked,

'Vaccinating in the first days and weeks has taught us a lot, and we are excited to take the next steps in this process of moving forward.”