Man of Heal: The Story of the Superman Pharmacist

A clearance Superman costume was the most valuable $20 that Mayank Amin, PharmD, RPh, MBA, has ever spent in his life.

The date was February 7, 2021. With COVID-19 vaccines newly available, people tired of following stay-at-home orders and mask mandates across the country were desperate to get shots in their arms. The Kansas City Chiefs were facing off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Super Bowl later that evening, and where Amin had planned a COVID-19 vaccination clinic, a blizzard swept through Montgomery County.

Employees and volunteers insisted that Amin cancel. But driven by his entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to help the community, he refused.

In the back of his store hung a Superman suit he had previously worn once to drop off medication at a resident’s doorstep. Remembering the look on the child’s face who had answered the door to an unexpected delivery from Superman, he weighed wearing it to administer vaccines.

“I asked [the volunteers], ‘Guys, what do you think if I just put this costume on and went to the firehouse where we’re having this clinic and just walked in dressed as Superman with the vaccines in hand?’” recounts Amin, owner and chief patient advocate at Skippack Pharmacy, on that cold Super Bowl Sunday. “They’re like, ‘Dr. Mak, that would be stupid if you didn’t wear it. Just put it on.’”

With the help of the community—and dressed as Superman—Amin vaccinated thousands of individuals. What started as a gag purchase became so much more to pandemic-weary residents.

“The amazing thing about our clinics is that they spread messages of love and positivity,” Amin says. “So, in a time of negativity, this costume fueled positivity.”

In part 2 of the latest episode of Over the Counter, Amin discusses his journey as the Superman Pharmacist and expresses hope for the future of community pharmacy. “We’re gonna get through this together,” he says.

Check out part 2 of our conversation with Amin available on Spotify.

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