The rise in measles cases across the province has prompted Albertans to go get the vaccine, even if that means paying out-of-pocket. Read More
Calgary pharmacists are seeing an increase in measle vaccine appointments, even for those that have to pay for it
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Calgary pharmacists are seeing an increase in measle vaccine appointments, even for those that have to pay for it
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The rise in measles cases across the province has prompted Albertans to go get the vaccine, even if that means paying out-of-pocket.
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The measles vaccine, known as MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) is offered free-of-charge at public immunization clinics led by the Alberta Health Services (AHS) and, for a price, at local and travel pharmacies that have kept their own stock of the vaccines.
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Pharmacists say they have seen an uptick in calls and appointments booked to receive the vaccine, following the news of a measles outbreak in the province and across the country.
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“It’s because of the cases found in Alberta,” Heather Elbayoumi, who owns Heathers Pharmacy and Travel Clinic in northwest Calgary. “So that’s obviously (leading) the concerns.”
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As of Thursday, the province has confirmed 24 cases of the infection, three of which were reported in Calgary. Nine have been reported in northern Alberta, four in Edmonton, three in central Alberta and five in the southern region of the province.
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Experts have warned that the numbers will rise in the coming weeks, pointing to the provinces in the east reporting measles numbers in the triple digits.
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Most Albertans calling in have questions about whether they’re eligible to get the vaccine, pharmacists say, with questions on how to check their immunization records, if there are any risks and what the vaccine entails.
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“When we lack any access to (records proving eligibility), we just go with the safer route, which is basically recommending the vaccine and administering the vaccine,” she said.
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Access to the MMR vaccine in Calgary
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Unlike the cold and flu vaccines, which are publicly funded vaccines and provided to pharmacies by the province, the MMR vaccine is only available, at no charge, at AHS clinics.
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To book an appointment, Albertans can book online through Connect Care, call Health Link at 811 or call their local public health or community health center.
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Currently, adults looking to receive the vaccine would have to wait up to three weeks for their appointment, while children younger than 18 years would have to wait up to one week.
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It’s quicker to get an appointment at a local or travel pharmacy, but it comes at a price.
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Elbayoumi’s pharmacy offers the shot for $55.29, with an additional $20 injection fee. “That’s usually the norm with any private immunization,” she said, adding that the shot is billable if someone has private insurance.
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Besant Malash at Core Pharmacy Travel Clinic + Compounding said the shot costs the same at her store, with a $15 injection fee.
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Not every pharmacy has stock available.
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Kinjal Solanki, who owns Kinsol pharmacy confirmed that her pharmacy does not offer the measles vaccine and that her staff is redirecting customers to AHS clinics offering the vaccines.
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Randy Howden, who owns Crowfoot Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy and Compounding Centre said his pharmacy has four doses left of the vaccine. “And once those are gone, it looks like we’re not going to be able to get any more right now because it’s backordered,” he said.
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Alexia Clark, who works as a pharmacist at Cambrian Pharmacy says that while they don’t keep any stock, they refer customers to travel pharmacies, who are more likely to keep stock of the measles vaccines.
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“We just ask them to Google the pharmacies,” she said, when asked if customers are referred to any particular pharmacies.
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Malash, who works at a travel pharmacy, confirmed that they have received calls from pharmacists asking to buy supplies from them, “because (the vaccines) are not available now to order.”
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A statement from Merck Canada, who manufactures the MMR vaccine and supplies to the province, said that they “do not have a shortage of the MMR vaccines.”
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“We continue to work diligently with all relevant stakeholders, including provincial and federal health authorities, to provide a consistent supply of MMR®II vaccines,” reads an email from a media spokesperson, when asked if the company has been able to respond to pharmacy requests for new stock of the vaccine.
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Why some measles vaccines are free and some aren’t
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Pharmacies have to buy their own stock of the measles vaccine, unlike the cold and flu shots, which are supplied by the province. “The measles vaccine isn’t a publicly funded vaccine,” Howden said.
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Howden is on the board of the Alberta Pharmacist’s Assocation and served as president until last year. He said the organization has been advocating for a full access for publicly funded vaccines to be available at pharmacies, including the MMR shot.
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“Pharmacies are easily accessible clinics and we can have a larger role in vaccinations,” he said. “A lot of patients don’t want to or are unable to book an appointment for a vaccine at an (AHS clinic).”
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He said because measles was such an infrequent disease in the province that it didn’t make sense to accumulate a “big provincial stockpile” to hand to pharmacies.
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“I don’t believe they have that available,” he said.
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When asked why pharmacies aren’t provided the vaccine, a media spokesperson with Alberta Health stated in an email that “MMR is a live vaccine requiring specific storage conditions and administration techniques. Alberta Health continues to work with its public health partners on strategies to support timely access to immunization appointments.”
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Demand for measles vaccine and common questions
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The demand for the vaccine has been high, some Calgary pharmacists say, with several calls coming in a day with questions on vaccine eligibility and booking appointments.
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“The year before, I would have done maybe 10 shots,” Elbayoumi said. “We just did 10 over the last weekend.”
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At Core Pharmacy Travel Clinic + Compounding, Malash says they see at least two appointments a day.
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Howden said he has seen “a lot of people coming in” asking questions and booking appointments to get their vaccines.
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Before recommending the vaccines, his pharmacists will assess the patients to see if they require another shot.
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“A lot luckily have already been vaccinated and don’t require vaccinations,” he said. “But we are answering a lot of questions and helping assess a lot of people and help them understand what the risk is.”
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Callers are also confused about how the criteria differs between those born before 1970 and those born after, according to Malash.
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Provincial guidelines dictate that if someone was born before 1970, they do not have to get the vaccine because they are presumed to have natural immunity to the disease (due to widespread exposure at the time).
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“It’s confusing, a little, for people so they’ll call and ask if they should get one, or two,” she said.
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Vaccine hesitancy
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Pharmacists and infectious disease experts agree that the rise in measles cases stems from a drop in vaccination rates in past years, thanks to anti-vaccine sentiment and a lack of familiarity with measles.
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The virus had been considered eradicated from the province in 1998 thanks to high vaccination rates among children in the 90s. However, that in turn, created a false sense of security about feeling invulnerable to the disease.
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“One of the issues with public health is, when you have a very effective vaccine and everything seems to be working well, people tend to forget about a disease,” Dr. Lorne Tyrrell, director of the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology at the University of Alberta, told the Calgary Herald. “So they’re not quite as vigilant to doing their vaccinations.”
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Vaccination rates have fallen over the years from its target rate of 95 per cent to below 70 per cent.
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Rising anti-vaxxer sentiment and hesitancy towards vaccines, propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, also propelled the drop in vaccination rates, which meant more people were vulnerable to catching the disease.
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Measles, experts say, is a “highly contagious” virus and it’s not the only one coming back into the spotlight.
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“Due to declining vaccination rates, we’re seeing outbreaks of pertussis (whooping cough) and we’re seeing outbreaks of measles, because measles and pertussis are mostly highly transmissible viruses,” Howden said.
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“We thought pertussis was gone and measles was kind of in history as well, but declining vaccine rates, lots of travel worldwide .. those two things are kind of a perfect storm for transmission.”
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