Pharmacists cashed in: The COVID gold rush they don’t want you talking about

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When the Government rolled out its COVID vaccination programme, most Kiwis assumed pharmacies were simply doing their bit for public health. What we were not told was that behind the scenes the jab programme turned into a lucrative cash cow for a select group of pharmacy owners who saw the pandemic not as a crisis, but as an opportunity to fill their coffers.

According to reporting from Pharmacy Today, more than $58.5 million in vaccination payments poured into pharmacy bank accounts. Pharmacy accountant Hugh Lopdell admits the bulk of that money landed in the pockets of only 15 to 20 percent of pharmacies. These were not the corner chemists struggling to keep the doors open. These were the high-flying operators who saw the dollar signs early and built vaccination clinics like they were opening branches of McDonald’s.

Lopdell says some pharmacies earned $300,000 during the rollout. Others made hundreds of thousands in only three to four months. One pharmacy that was not even his client cleared a staggering $1 million from vaccinations alone. Not a million over a decade. A million in the time it usually takes to finish a Bachelor’s degree semester.

What did it cost them to rake in this cash? According to Lopdell, the only real expense was staff wages, and even that was padded by hiring nurses and other non-pharmacy workers to churn through as many arms as possible. Administrative work was involved, of course, but it seems paperwork is not too hard when the reward is a six or seven figure payday.

Pharmacies were paid a flat $36.05 per weekday dose and $48.72 for weekends and after hours. When you multiply that by thousands of jabs a week, you end up with what Lopdell called an “absolute windfall”. No wonder the biggest operators were running clinics like production lines. If you ever wondered why your local chemist had a queue stretching down the street, it was not just civic duty. It was profitable.

Meanwhile, smaller pharmacies without consulting rooms, or with only one pharmacist on duty, missed out entirely. While the chosen few were bathing in taxpayer funded revenue, the rest of the industry was left with crumbs. Lopdell gently suggests the system was not unfair, but the numbers tell a different story. The businesses with connections and influence got the contracts. Those without were left to watch others rake in six figures during a global health crisis.

And then there is the Pharmacy Guild’s own admission. In its 2021 annual report it confirmed the sector received between $58.5 million and $79.1 million in extra funding thanks to COVID vaccines. Green Cross Health, one of the largest pharmacy chains, posted a 49 percent jump in operating profit in the same period. They credited it to busier dispensaries and a spike in earnings from vaccinations.

In other words, the COVID vaccination rollout was not just a public health operation. It was one of the biggest quiet transfers of taxpayer money into private business pockets this country has ever seen.

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Now that the profits have dried up, Lopdell offers a little reflection. He says the pandemic should serve as a lesson for pharmacies so they can be ready to get a piece of the pie next time. That quote says it all. Not a lesson in preparedness. Not a lesson in community health. A lesson in making sure you do not miss the next jackpot.

While New Zealand families were locked down, losing businesses, and watching their savings evaporate, a handful of pharmacy owners were cashing cheques bigger than most Kiwis earn in several years. They were not frontline heroes. They were the pandemic’s biggest financial winners.

They did it all with your money.