Hours of Operation

Monday - Friday: 9 am to 6 pm
Saturday: 9 am to noon
Closed Sundays and holidays

Please follow & like us!
Follow by Email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
Subscribe by email
Get new posts by email:
Archives

Archive for August, 2021

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. By Our Student Pharmacist, James Wilson.

Header Photo 1

We are one week into August and it is National Immunization Awareness Month. It may feel like all we have heard about in 2021 were the COVID-19 vaccines made by Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson. While being vaccinated against COVID-19 is important for a safer future, let us not forget the crucial role that all the other vaccines have on our health.

How Do Vaccines Work?

The human body has its own way of handling infections and this is known as the immune system. White blood cells are a part of this system and target whatever infectious material enters the body. After dealing with the disease, the immune system develops a memory for the particular infectious agent so it can better handle it the next time your body comes into contact with it.

Vaccines work by imitating a disease, allowing the immune system to respond to it, and building a memory against it. Since the body is responding to the vaccine, minor symptoms such as fever or fatigue may occur after getting a vaccine. However, in contrast to the vaccine symptoms, the diseases being vaccinated for can cause serious complications which could lead to hospitalization or even death.

Vaccines may require multiple doses or even boosters later on and this is because a single dose of a vaccine is not enough to build immunity or immunity starts to wear away as we get older.

Child Vaccine Photo 3

Routine Vaccinations for Children

Vaccines are an important part of a child’s health. Routine vaccination is started at an early age because young children are very susceptible to infections; they also have a much higher risk of developing severe complications due to infection.

Vaccines started early in life include:

  • Hepatitis B
  • DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough)
  • Pneumococcal
  • Polio
  • MMR (measles/mumps/rubella)

Many of these vaccines require multiple doses so it is important to know when your child is due for their next shot.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provide an easy-to-read vaccine schedule for your child from birth to 18 years old and you can find it by clicking here.

Missed a Routine Vaccine?

Are you worried that your child may have missed a routine vaccine? Fret not, as your child does not have to restart the vaccine series. Simply follow up with your child’s doctor for the missed shot.

Routine Vaccinations Are Not Just for Kids

Although most of our vaccine series are completed when we are young, there are plenty of vaccines that are recommended for adults. Some vaccines are recommended based on age, health complications, or even if you work in a healthcare setting. Some examples of recommend vaccines are as follows:

  • The two-dose shingles vaccine is recommended for adults over the age 50, even if they have had shingles in the past.
  • Pregnant mothers should get a Tdap dose with each pregnancy to help prevent whooping cough (pertussis).
  • The flu shot is recommended every year for everyone over the age of 6 months old.

Immune System Photo 2

Take the CDC quiz to see what vaccines may be recommended for you. Click here.

Vaccines are an important way of ensuring our health and preventing the spread of dangerous diseases.

Take this month of August to ensure that you and your loved ones have the vaccinations you need. If you have any more questions about vaccines, please stop by and we will be happy to answer them for you.

Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/events/niam/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/understanding-vacc-work.html

Please Welcome James Wilson Our Second Student Pharmacist for August at Plain City Druggist.

IMG_1089

This month, we are also joined at Plain City Druggist by James Wilson a fourth-year pharmacy student from The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy.

In a previous post, we introduced you to Patrick Wang, who is doing a rotation with Joe in Plain City this month, and now we’d like you to meet James.

James will graduate in May 2022 with his PharmD degree and will then take the test to become a registered pharmacist. James will be with Meghan and the staff here in Plain City throughout August, so please stop by and meet him while he is here.

Here is what James tells us about himself:

Hello! My name is James Wilson and I am from Norwalk, OH. I am a fourth-year pharmacy student with the Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy, and I will be the student pharmacist with Meghan the month of August.

I have been with Ohio State for eight years (Go Bucks!) and earned a Bachelor’s in chemistry during the first four years. Originally, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I came to Ohio State; all I knew was that I had a passion for chemistry and that was the degree I was going to get. About two years into getting my degree, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with chemistry. It was not until a friend suggested pharmacy to me that I made a decision to find out more.  The more I looked into pharmacy as a career the more excited I got. I finally knew what I could do with my chemistry knowledge.

Once I knew pharmacy was the thing for me, I quickly applied for every pharmacy technician spot in Columbus. Soon, I was hired by the CVS on campus and loved the fast-paced environment that the store had. I would end up working there for three years, leaving near the end of my first year in pharmacy school for a research role in a computational drug design lab at the college.

My plans after pharmacy school are still very much up in the air. I very much enjoy emergency medicine. I learned this after shadowing and completing a rotation in the emergency department. It is a fast-paced field with patients presenting with a wide variety of conditions that, as students, we are not exposed to as much. As for my other options after school, I have been heavily debating if I want to complete a PhD and this was sparked on by my research lab. Whatever I decide, I know I will be helping people because of my passion for pharmacy.

That was a little bit about myself. I look forward to meeting everyone at Plain City Druggist this month and learning all that I can about independent pharmacy!

IMG_2959

 

Please Welcome Patrick Wang Our Student Pharmacist for the Month of August.

IMG_1087

This month, Joe will be working on management issues with Patrick Wang, a fourth-year pharmacy student from The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy.

Patrick will graduate in May 2022 and will then take the test to become a registered pharmacist. Patrick will be with Joe and the staff at Plain City Druggist throughout August, so please say hello if you see him out and about with Joe. Joe plans to take Patrick to his many, many meetings and show him what it looks like to own a pharmacy.

Here is what Patrick tells us about himself:

My name is Patrick Wang and I am currently a fourth year PharmD student at The Ohio State University’s College of Pharmacy. I will be doing a student rotation with Joe during the month of August.

I was born and raised in the Toledo area, but moved to Columbus for my freshman year of college and have been here ever since. I graduated from The Ohio State University in 2018 with a BSPS degree.

I always knew that I had a passion for helping people – especially those in my community. One of my biggest passions, especially in high school, was volunteering. I volunteered for multiple years at a local hospital, as well as at a local clinic that served the local elderly Mandarin Chinese population that otherwise were too afraid to go and see a doctor for a health checkup due to the language barrier. Through these experiences I got to get firsthand experience at the difference that I can make by serving my community and was hooked.

I originally was on the path to enter medical school, but this changed when I shadowed a doctor and saw that, no matter how hard the doctor tried, there simply were not enough working hours to be able to really establish a strong relationship with the patients. Every visit was limited to about 15 minutes before the doctor had to move on and see the next patient.

This experience caused me to change my career path to pharmacy, where being open and readily available to patients are hallmarks of the profession.

I’ve worked for Kroger pharmacy for about five years and throughout my time I’ve been able to see the connections that my pharmacists had with their patients, and was even able to form a few myself.

I chose this rotation because independent pharmacies such as Plain City Druggist really exemplify what it means to be a pillar of the community and often have to be extremely careful about how they manage their resources. My hope is that by participating in this rotation, I will be able to learn these management techniques from Joe and the other managers.

In my free time I enjoy being outside taking walks, playing games, and listening to music.

In the future I want to continue to work in community pharmacy in either Ohio or Georgia and foster my relationships with my patients in a way that goes beyond simply patient and provider.

I will be found at various Happy Druggist stores throughout the month and look forward to serving you.

IMG_2958