Montreal Pharmaceutical Aims to Boost Immunocompromised Patients

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When Daron Basmadjian’s immunocompromised father became eligible for his fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Basmadjian was reluctant to take him to a large vaccination center or busy pharmacy.

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With the highly contagious variant of Omicron spreading like wildfire, Basmadjian wanted his father to be vaccinated in an ultra-secure clinic with minimal risk of him coming into contact with the new coronavirus.

As the 35-year-old pharmacist weighed the options, he realized the perfect location wasn’t far away: his own pharmacy, in the downtown Seaforth Medical Building.

Having installed an air purifier and a CO2 monitoring device, Basmadjian decided to open his pharmacy on a Saturday (it is normally closed on weekends) to vaccinate his father when no one else was around.

But he quickly decided that giving his 77-year-old father, who had a liver transplant, a booster dose was not enough. He will open his pharmacy next Saturday so that he can also power dozens of other immunocompromised Montrealers and the people they live with.

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“Some of them are petrified to go to a mass vaccination center or a crowded pharmacy,” Basmadjian said in an interview. “They feel like they have been forgotten during the pandemic and are grateful that someone is taking the time to think about them.”

Only one customer will be allowed in the pharmacy at a time. Patients can wear a blue medical mask over their N95 mask, if they have one, and a health questionnaire will be completed in advance to reduce the amount of time they spend in Basmadjian’s office.

After their booster injection, they will be allowed to remain in their car for the mandatory 15-minute observation period.

“I’m happy to give them a safe place to help protect their immunity a little bit,” Basmadjian said. “Nothing is zero risk. But this is as low as the risk can go.”

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Some immunocompromised people have weak immune systems due to medical conditions or medications they take. Others are born with little immunity; In many cases, your body does not respond well to vaccinations.

Basmadjian noted that some of these patients have not developed antibodies after receiving three doses of the vaccine.

“Most severely immunocompromised people have been living at home for two years, doing nothing and never going out,” he said.

He found that many people wanted to take him up on his offer after he promoted the clinic on Twitter this week.

Basmadjian has two young children, and his father is concerned that the pharmacist is taking on too much work. But at the end of the day, he is delighted with his son’s kindness.

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“He said I’m going to help a lot of people and he’s proud of me.”

Immunocompromised individuals who need a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can inquire about the availability of pharmacist Daron Basmadjian at [email protected].

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