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Byrd Drug Company began administering the COVID-19 vaccine by appointment only starting Monday, January 18. The store will be closing an hour earlier at 5 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays to allow for these appointments.

“This will allow us to administer the vaccine in the safest environment possible,” said Jenna Dimoff, the office manager of the pharmacy at Byrd Drug Company.

Dimoff explained they are not able to take walk-ins at this time due to the restrictions, but they will be giving vaccines by appointment two days a week, Monday and Thursday, in the evenings.

Already, Byrd Drug has received an overwhelming amount of calls from people wanting to schedule to get the vaccine.

“As soon as we could order the vaccine, we jumped on it,” Dimoff said. “It was really important to us. We wanted to do what we could to play our part in helping the community.”

While the vaccine is somewhat in short supply, Dimoff explained Byrd Drug has vaccines now, has placed an order for more, and is willing to administer as many as they can.

“It’s important that everyone does their research to make the best decision. Basically, it comes down to looking at it for yourself and looking at your situation to decide whether the benefits outweigh the risks, but we encourage everyone to continue to call and continue to get on the list,” she said.

Byrd Drug is working with the CDC and the Department of Public Health guidelines to distribute the vaccine, and wants to encourage everyone to call and make an appointment.

“I cannot praise this team enough for the way everyone has come together, given 150 percent, and made it all happen day in and day out,” Dimoff said. “We’ve done the best we can to make sure we’re being as safe as possible while also continuing to get our costumers in our community what they need to keep them healthy. It’s been a wild ride, but we’re holding on.”