Pill Box Pharmacy owner Greg Winn stands in the lobby of the store located near Kosciusko Community Hospital. InkFreeNews photo by Dan Spalding.

By Dan Spalding
and Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW – Working as a pharmacist, the goal is to help customers return to good health, but Greg Winn says he never thought he’d have a chance to clearly save lives.

But that’s what it feels like right now.

Winn is the owner of the Pill Box Pharmacy, which is the only locally-owned pharmacy providing vaccines for COVID-19.

The Pill Box has already received its first shipment of doses and was expected to begin administering shots Wednesday morning.

A close-up view of a vaccine. Photo provided.

The Pill Box joined several other stores – Kroger, Walmart and Meijer – to begin scheduling and administering COVID-19 vaccine shots.

The shots are being offered free of charge.

Until last week or so, the county’s health department’s vaccine clinic had been the only injection site in Kosciusko County.

Based on the death rate involving COVID-19, Winn said he estimates that they expect to prevent 44 deaths in three months.

“I don’t think I could ever say before that I saved a life or prevented a death,” Winn said. “We’re excited to help out.”

Kroger on East Center Street began providing shots last week.

Mo Kios, the head tech at the Kroger pharmacy, said they provided 85 shots last week. The store received a second shipment Monday.

Walmart in Warsaw has already started vaccinations. To set up an appointment there, people should visit the state website www.ourshot.in.gov or call 2-1-1.

Meijer is working on getting vaccination appointments set up. There’s more information if people stop by its pharmacy.

The national vaccine rollout has been slowed by an apparent lack of supplies.

On Monday, Indiana expanded those eligible to include anyone 65 and older.

Local leaders said they are preparing to accommodate a wide-scale vaccination effort if and when the medicine becomes more available.