I got a call out of the blue from NBC 5’s Investigative Reporter Chris Coffey on Thursday the 22nd of April. He asked if he could stop by Oswald’s in 30 minutes to film a segment for a news story airing that evening. He remembered our pharmacy from a segment filmed last November at Oswald’s. That segment was about sleds, winter-wear, and salt being sold out at many local businesses when winter kicked into full gear.

COVID-19 Vaccines at Oswald’s Pharmacy Featured on NBC 5 Chicago

His story wasn’t so lighthearted this time around. He was doing a piece on pharmacists struggling to both fill prescriptions and administer COVID-19 vaccines, along with all of their other daily obligations. It was centered around a Chicagoland Mariano’s pharmacy that accidentally gave people the wrong COVID-19 vaccine for their second dose. Thankfully no major side effects were reported.

The Oswald’s storefront featured on NBC 5.

I explained on the phone that while he was more than welcome to stop by, we saw many potential vaccine problems in advance. We worked together with our entire staff to make sure we could administer the vaccines safely while keeping our pharmacists focused on what they do best: taking care of our patients and their prescriptions. He was still interested and decided our story would be a nice counterbalance to the chain pharmacies that were struggling to keep up.

Our Pharmacy Manager Hannah has put in hundreds of hours since last fall getting us ready for the vaccine. It was no easy feat! It consisted of a dizzying amount of online and offline paperwork for Federal programs, local programs, and contracts with our distributors. This was on top of the ever-changing landscape of what vaccines the FDA was granting EUAs (emergency use authorizations) to and many other protocol details. Our other pharmacists, Mary, Linda, and Laura, stepped up to help cover for Hannah while doing all of this.

Keeping up With Our Pharmacists & the COVID-19 Vaccine

Once we got through all of the paperwork, we realized our next challenge: having the staff to vaccinate and monitor patients. This came with the added challenge of figuring out the logistics of creating appointments, amassing a contact list, and keeping our patients and community informed! Luckily, our lead pharmacy technician Nancy, our lab manager Haley, and our retail manager Kathleen (all 3 of them are pharmacy technicians) went through rigorous training to become certified to immunize. The more help the merrier!

Now that we’re up and running we have administered over 500 COVID-19 vaccines. The hard work from our incredible team is paying off. The kind words we’ve received from our customers, new and old alike, is inspiring. It keeps us motivated to continue helping our community get through this pandemic, while also taking care of their everyday health needs. Caring for this town’s health is a job we’ve had for the past 146 years and we certainly don’t take it lightly!

We hope you and those in your life that are able, have been vaccinated! If not, appointments are getting easier to book by the day. I imagine that by June getting a COVID-19 vaccine will be as easy as getting your flu shot in the fall. If you need assistance or have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at alex@oswaldspharmacy.com.

Don’t Forget Mother’s Day!

With Mother’s Day on May 9th we hope you can safely celebrate the holiday with the Moms in your life. While it’s all hands on deck here at the store to make sure our vaccine clinics & pharmacy continue to run smoothly, our Manager Alecia still found the time to make sure we’re fully stocked with a carefully curated selection of unique Mother’s Day finds.

Is Mom not in town? We can help with that too! After you find the perfect gift at Oswald’s, you can also visit our in-store United States Post Office, open 7 days a week, and mail the package right to her door. However you end up celebrating, I hope you have a wonderful month of May!