CARY, N.C. — DJ’s Pharmacy in Cary is a locally owned business with just a handful of employees. On top of their day-to-day tasks, they’re on the front lines of the war on COVID-19.

They administer hundreds of COVID-19 vaccines every week, which involves a lot of paperwork and can be a time-consuming process.

"The time spent educating the public, the time spent entering the information into our system and the state system," says Jin Lee, a pharmacist and co-owner of DJ's Pharmacy.

Lee says some people are doing anything they can to get vaccinated. Some patients tell him they’re signing up wherever they can as often as possible to get the soonest or most convenient appointment.

"I just had most recently this Saturday an email from a customer saying, 'I do have my name in three other places so we’ll see what happens,' " Lee says.

Lee says eventually the patients will have to cancel the appointments they don’t go to or worse, they just won’t show up.

Lee says they had 43 people cancel their vaccine appointments last week. The cancelations and no-shows cause a rush in order to find someone else who wants the vaccine before it goes to waste.

"That’s really hurting somebody else that may want to get that vaccine and needs to get that vaccine, doesn’t have the transportation or other means of going elsewhere to get it," Lee says.

DJ's Pharmacy just wants people to be aware that their decision to cancel or abandon vaccine appointments may impact others because, for Lee, it’s about the larger picture.

"Seeing the community get healthier, protecting their loved ones and themselves, it’s something that’s really rewarding for us," Lee says.

Lee also says many people are confused when a pharmacy or even larger vaccination site asks for insurance. The vaccinations are free, with or without insurance. Lee says the insurance helps cover costs of other supplies, like gloves, band aids and containers for used needles.