By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Sitka’s privately owned pharmacy was featured in a national news story today about small pharmacies’ challenges and importance in the vaccine distribution effort.
The NBC News story discusses the extra work and investment costs for small independent pharmacies across the U.S. to help in the vaccination effort, billing challenges, and their front line role in getting the vaccine out.
It includes a quote from Dirk White, co-owner of Harry Race Pharmacy, and a photo of Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren, EMS Captain Rob Janik, a patient, and Harry Race pharmacist Katelyn Ylitalo at a pharmacy clinic in the fire hall. Harry Race works with the state in providing the vaccinations. SEARHC is the other organization in town providing vaccinations.
A photo provided by Whites Pharmacy and Harry Race Pharmacy is being used to illustrate a story by NBC News on the role of pharmacies in distributing COVID-19 vaccines. The photo shows a clinic held at the Sitka Fire Hall hosted by the local pharmacies. (Photo by Harry Race Pharmacy and Whites Pharmacy)
The NBC News link, with a quote from Harry Race and White’s Pharmacy co-owner Dirk White is at:
nbcnews.com/news/us-news/small-pharmacies-are-crucial-vaccine-distribution-it-could-cost-them-n1257527
Harry Race and SEARHC this week vaccinated hundreds. Sitka has seen no new positive test results for the past five days, and the 14-day rolling average hit .5 average cases a day.
That puts the alert level still at “moderate,” but on the cusp of going to “low.” Sitka has one current active case, and logged a total of seven positive test results for the past 14 days. The most recent three were related to travel, and were for asymptomatic people.
The link to schedule a vaccination Feb. 17 through Harry Race is:
https://cw2-alaska-production.herokuapp.com/client/registration?clinic_id=554.
Registration for a vaccination through SEARHC is covid19.searhc.org.
