FITCHBURG, Wis. — A Dane County pharmacist is one of the first in Wisconsin to offer the COVID-19 vaccine in a unique drive-thru.
"[We] decided to be as proactive as we can be,” Fitchburg Family Pharmacy's Dr. Thad Schumacher said. “And if they give us [the] vaccine, we'll figure out a way to get it to people.”
The pharmacist started giving Pfizer vaccines Tuesday afternoon to 36 healthcare workers in Group 1A. He said this includes everyone from dental hygienists to other pharmacists unable to get the shot in the arm any other way.
"There's a lot of unaffiliated providers, meaning that they don't work in the health system so this is their chance now," Dr. Schumacher said.
Ashley Collins, a Waunakee dental hygienist, said she is thankful for the quick and easy way to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
"Just relieved," Collins said. "Just can’t wait for this to be over with, I’m just hopeful everybody makes a wise decision and gets vaccinated.”
After receiving the prick, Collins waited a mandatory 15 minutes in a nearby parking lot in case of side effects.
"15 minutes is because they are driving. But even if they came in and sat down, we'd make them sit somewhere for 15 minutes,” Schumacher said. “It's really important because being an emergency use authorized vaccine, there's so little data to go on that we need to be extra careful.”
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