Pharmacist looking for independent control of vaccines

Mar. 8—IPSWICH — A North Shore compounding pharmacist has been the source of more than 5,000 COVID-19 vaccinations and he is asking the state to let him help even more.

Alex Doyle is a compounding pharmacist and the owner of Conley's Drug Store in Ipswich. Doyle and his staff of about 20 jumped at the chance to distribute the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines late last year.

Doyle said he has been able to inoculate about 5,000 people at vaccination clinics that cover Amesbury, Salisbury, Hamilton, Wenham, Rowley, Manchester, Essex, Gloucester, Rockport, Lynn, Merrimac, Saugus and his hometown of Ipswich.

"I have vaccinated people in barns, I have vaccinated people in their cars, I have immunized people in church halls and senior living facilities. We go to where the people are," Doyle said. "I'm working about 12 to 18 hours a day and I've got my staff that is working seven days a week."

Getting ahold of the vaccine from the state has been a source of major confusion and consternation, according to Doyle.

"There has been such a lack of information out there and people have been worked into a frenzy over this," he said. "You try to talk with the Department of Public Health directly and you don't get clear answers. You don't get timely answers. The federal government signed a contract for Phase 1 with Walgreens and CVS exclusively early on.

"You have 49 states that signed on with this federal partnership and there was one state that did not sign that partnership, West Virginia, which now leads the country in administering vaccines," he added. "They did this by using small, local, community pharmacies."

Those pharmacies are tied directly to their communities and should be involved directly in the vaccination effort, according to Doyle.

"All of the mass sites are run by Curative or CIC Health, which are companies based outside of the state," he said. "We're always talking about helping small, local business and this is the time to step up."

Doyle said his pharmacy has administered more than 11,000 doses in a day and he would like to become a mass vaccination site.

"I don't want to underplay the complexity of what we do but the first week, I received 100 doses; the second week, I requested 1,000 doses. The third week, I requested 3,000 doses. Then, I requested 5,000 doses and they sent me zero," he said. "The reason they did that was I hadn't used 85% of my supply. That's because I promised three towns that I would do clinics for them so I couldn't use that vaccine without knowing that I was going to get my next order."

The state has created a "logistical nightmare," he said.

"I don't know until Friday night or Saturday what I am going to receive the following week," Doyle said. "I can't plan clinics, I can't confirm clinics until the following week."

The vaccination problem is obvious to Doyle.

"It's a supply issue right now," he said. "There's just not enough supply. That is the thing that no one wants to say. The state will say that we don't have enough vaccine. But then the governor will turn right around and open up three or four new mass vaccination sites. Or he will say that teachers will be vaccinated now but they don't give us any extra inventory."

Supply and demand are not a tough equation to solve, according to Doyle.

"We need to get supply and have an efficient way of administering those doses and I don't believe that the best way to do that is to use an out-of-state provider at a mass vaccination site," Doyle said. "That is not where people want to get their vaccines. Yeah, you can get the numbers up but you are really doing a lot of damage to these communities by trying to cram everyone into these mass sites."

Amesbury and Salisbury hosted a second-dose vaccination clinic at Holy Family Parish on Friday. Doyle said that clinic was in doubt up until Wednesday.

"I was shorted 500 doses for second clinics this week," Doyle said. "This is the second time this has happened to me."

Doyle also said that he has petitioned the state to designate his pharmacy a mass vaccination site.

"This is just like compounding — you see a problem and you try to solve that need," he said. "I am from this community and I am a part of this community. I want to take care of our community. That is why I got into health care. Not only could we be in a central location, if that is what the state prefers, but I would also be around these communities so that people don't have to leave where they are."

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.