Is this normal at a urgent care

[Wendy1985]

You really should do this at your doctor's office.

I understand that but I can’t afford Lyft every other week

Edit I should probably find a doctor that I can get to independently

 

[design_mom]

Do pharmacists not do this in the States? They are responsible for practically all injections and vaccine administration here.

Yes. Pharmacists can do it, too... but so can doctors/nurses. (When we scheduled, it was still when they were saying "get your COVID vaccine as soon as you can/where you can." The urgent care came up through our state "find a shot" website, while most of the pharmacies have their own appointment scheduling system and I hadn't been able to find an appointment. So I said "What the heck. Let's get them there." But I probably wouldn't choose to do that again.

 

[redboat45]

I understand that but I can’t afford Lyft every other week

Edit I should probably find a doctor that I can get to independently

ah I didn't know you couldn't drive. Do you have a friend that could just give it to you?

 

[Wendy1985]

ah I didn't know you couldn't drive. Do you have a friend that could just give it to you?

I can’t think of anyone

 

[RamblingMad]

Are you taking antacids?

 

[Wendy1985]

Are you taking antacids?

Yes and my doctor knows it Stomach acid is a big problem in my family

 

[fab1976]

Do pharmacists not do this in the States? They are responsible for practically all injections and vaccine administration here.

Pharmacists do the flu shot and COVID shots here in Ontario, no other vaccinations. And public health tracks, but often family doctors are the ones administering other vaccines.

 

[RamblingMad]

Yes and my doctor knows it Stomach acid is a big problem in my family

Taking antacids gave me a B-12 deficiency. Once, I went off the antacids, my B-12 deficiency went away. I found that the B-12 that I bought at Costco helped mitigate the B-12 deficiency. But getting off the antacids solved the problem.

This has now come out as science as well:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/270007

Maybe there is alternative antacids your doctor could put you on that wouldn't cause the deficiency, so that you wouldn't need the shots.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It will depend on the network of urgent cares, they can all have their own system based on their own facilities and what they have. Not every urgent care can do everything and some can do things others can't. Some prioritize differently based on the staff they have at a specific location over another. Many people try to go to an urgent care near them in their network if they have insurance so you'll find different locations have different norms.

TBH so long as it was cost effective either a pharmacy or an urgent care may be a place I go as well for a B12 shot assuming the doctor isn't needing me to consult with them in person on how it's going. It can be hard to get appointments at the doctor's office and if you're just needing something simple like 1 shot it's honestly kinda a waste of an appointment out of the day. But that may be different for someone else. My mother-in-law's old doctor switched to a membership plan where you paid a fee each month and you got priority and access via phone to the doctor at pretty much all hours, but if you didn't pay the membership fee good luck getting an appointment for just a B12 shot especially as they found many of their particular patients appreciated the membership plan and many joined meaning less and less time was available for non-membership patients. That would not be my preferred way of having a doctor but others liked it.

As far as the pharmacy goes I would not try to get a B12 shot if it's during a high uptick in vaccine administration. The pharmacists in my area barely had time to do flu shots much less a B12, they were understaffed, answering phones as quickly as possible, having to fill prescriptions, etc.

 

[ronandannette]

Pharmacists do the flu shot and COVID shots here in Ontario, no other vaccinations. And public health tracks, but often family doctors are the ones administering other vaccines.

Every jurisdiction must do it a little differently. Childhood vaccines are administered in schools or at the "Health Unit", which is mostly involved in public health initiatives for children. Elective vaccines are administered at special Travel Clinics and must be paid for OOP. Everything else routinely goes through the pharmacists and sometimes there is a small fee for giving the shots (my Shingrex shots had a fee) and I'm considering going on Ozempic; there will be a charge for that if I choose not to learn to administer it myself. The only shot I've gotten from anybody other than a pharmacist since I was a kid is a tetanus shot at the urgent care facility treating me for a broken bone a year ago.

 

[bababear_50]

Pharmacists do the flu shot and COVID shots here in Ontario, no other vaccinations. And public health tracks, but often family doctors are the ones administering other vaccines.

Actually Pharmacist here in Ontario Canada can give quite a few Vaccinations and shots.

Ontario expands list of vaccinations Canadian pharmacists can administer:​

• Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG);
• 
  Haemophilus Influenzae Type B (Hib);
• 
  Hepatitis A;
• 
  Hepatitis B;
• 
  Herpes Zoster (Shingles);
• 
  Human Papillomavirus (HPV);
• 
  Japanese Encephalitis;
• 
  Meningococcal disease;
• 
  Pneumococcal disease;
• 
  Rabies;
• 
  Typhoid;
• 
  Varicella; and
• 
  Yellow Fever.

These vaccines can be administered in participating pharmacies to anyone five years of age and older.



Not all vaccines require a prescription from a primary care provider, Ontario's Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care announced. In some cases, patients will be able to consult directly with their pharmacist and receive the vaccine at their pharmacy.



However, vaccines that are part of Ontario's publicly funded immunization program are free if administered by a primary care provider. Patients who choose to receive vaccines from a participating pharmacist will have to pay for the vaccine.



The publicly funded flu vaccine will continue to be available at no cost for all Ontarians from their primary care providers and in participating pharmacies.

 

[scrapquitler]

So I have been going to one to get my b12 shots

But given I am obviously not a emergency so the last thing I expect is for them to get me in so quickly

I used to go to one that I would wait hrs to be seen or it felt that way anyway

As a nurse would you try to get a will patient out quickly so they don’t get sick or take care of the sick

I get the sick need to see the doctor I just need to see a nurse because I am too chicken to give myself the shot

at the urgent care near me, you can either make an 'appointment' for a specific time (really its just adding you to the list) or you can walk in and wait your turn. Either way, r time is not guaranteed. When you are in there, there's a screen with the first three letters of your first name and first three letters of your last name, and it shows the approximate time until your turn.
They take patients in that order regardless of whether you are sick or well.