An Essex County pharmacy owner says they are working through the logistics of an "unprecedented" project to help with the region's COVID-19 vaccine rollout.
Brady's Drug Stores are taking part in the pilot project the government of Ontario announced Wednesday that includes 100 eligible pharmacies in Essex County.
"We could be getting shots as early as next week," added owner Brady.
The province says they are distributing AstraZeneca vaccines to pharmacies in Toronto, Kingston and Windsor-Essex.
Brady tells CTV Windsor the hardest part will be figuring out logistics.
"The province has a computer system that logs everybody who's got an injection, so that's not necessarily integrated into the pharmacy," he says. "The shot is the easy part. The two hard parts are, do we have enough to give people shots, and how do we keep track of it to make sure we know that someone's had it?"
He says the pilot project will give the region an advantage when vaccinations ramp up.
"I know the Province right now has secured about 400,000 doses … spread out over three regions. Windsor could be getting up to 100,000 which could be up to 50,000 people," according to Brady. "A regular store can do four to five shots an hour, so you're looking at potentially 3,000 to 4,000 people we could be vaccinating on a daily basis as long as the supply stays consistent."
Scientists are recommending against using the AstraZeneca vaccine on anyone over the age of 65, so Brady says they will likely start with the 60-65 age group as a "criteria" for the pilot project.
Brady is asking customers to avoid calling pharmacies while they work out details with the province.