COVID-19 Vaccination and the Expanding Role of Pharmacists: Pharmacist - Immunization Program (original) (raw)
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Protecting the Herd: Why Pharmacists Matter in Mass Vaccination
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The Frontline Pharmacist column gives staff pharmacists an opportunity to share their experiences and pertinent lessons related to day-today practice. Topics include workplace innovations, cooperating with peers, communicating with other professionals, dealing with management, handling technical issues related to pharmacy practice, and supervising technicians.
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In 2012, Ontario pharmacists were granted immunization privileges to administer influenza vaccines to the public. This study explored the experiences and practices of pharmacist vaccinators and the impact of vaccination pain on their practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 pharmacists in the Greater Toronto Area. Transcribed interview data were coded and analyzed via thematic analysis. Data analysis revealed 4 main themes: 1) expanded scope of practice as an enhancement and challenge to relationships; 2) professional satisfaction and workload demands; 3) knowledge and attitudes regarding pain and fear; 4) practices regarding pain and fear management. Pharmacists reported satisfaction in their new role, despite the associated increased workload. Pharmacists felt that vaccination pain was not a key consideration when administering vaccines and that pain management was generally not necessary. Fear was identified as more important than pain and vaccinating children ...
Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice
In the fight against COVID-19, frontline health workers have been vital to keeping the pandemic at bay, but recognition of individual professions’ efforts have been inconsistent at all levels. Pharmacists around the world have continued to provide direct patient care and perform frontline duties for their communities during this pandemic, but are often relegated to the background and overlooked when frontline workers are heralded. Community pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare practitioners, which is further proven during the pandemic as they continued to provide direct patient care despite restrictions imposed by the government due to the pandemic. Due to the inaccessibility of other healthcare practitioners during this time, community pharmacists have reduced the burden on the healthcare system by diverting the influx of patients away from hospitals through triaging and screening patients. Community pharmacists have played various roles in supporting the healthcare syste...
Pharmacists' perspectives on providing the COVID-19 vaccine in community pharmacies
Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research, 2021
Objectives The objective of this study was to explore community pharmacists’ perspectives on administering COVID-19 vaccine in community pharmacies in Jordan. Methods Purposeful sampling was used to identify a list of 100 community pharmacies which were approached to participate in the study. Twenty-three interviews were needed to reach data saturation. In-depth interviews were conducted, recorded, transcribed and analysed using NVivo 11 software. Interviews followed a previously prepared and validated 12-item interview guide. The interview guide discussed pharmacists’ perspectives on providing the COVID-19 vaccine in community pharmacies. Key findings The three overarching themes which described the participating pharmacists’ views towards administrating the COVID-19 vaccine in community pharmacies were advantage, support and barriers. The reported advantages included expediting the COVID-19 vaccination process, convince people to take the vaccine, increased patient accessibility t...
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 2021
One year since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, rapid response measures have been implemented internationally to mitigate the spread of the virus. Following rapid and successful pre-clinical and human trials, several vaccines have been authorised for use across Europe throughthe European Medicines Agency and national regulatory authorities. Clinical trials have shown promising results including important reductions in disease severity, hospitalisation and mortality. In order to maximise the public health benefit of available vaccines, there is a pressing need to vaccinate a large proportion of the population. Internationally, this has prompted coordination of existing services at enormous scale, and development and implementation of novel vaccination strategies to ensure maximum inoculation over the shortest possible timeframe. Pharmacists are being promoted as healthcare professionals that enhance roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination programmes. This paper aims to summarise current policy and practice in relation to pharmacists' involvement in COVID-19 vaccination in 13 countries across Europe.
The role of community pharmacists during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S
Journal of Research in Pharmacy, 2021
Coronavirus pandemic started to spread in the U.S.A. with a few cases from February 2020, causing a national health crisis with the number of cases exceeding 30 million in June 2021. To improve the situation during the crisis, new regulations regarding community pharmacies were made and innovative solutions were introduced to protect public health. Community pharmacists, who are the most accessible healthcare professionals, have assumed new roles and responsibilities including COVID-19 testing and vaccination. The scale and way pharmacists' potential are used have played an important role in determining the fate of the COVID pandemic in the U.S.A. The purpose of this article is to address the expanding job descriptions and sacrifices of community pharmacists in the COVID-19 era from a holistic perspective.
A Review of the Pharmacist as Vaccinator
INNOVATIONS in pharmacy, 2019
The aim of this study is to review literature about how the pharmacist's role as vaccination providers has been financially and clinically measured. Methods: A broad literature search was conducted up to May 2016 to identify economic or clinical data on pharmacy vaccinations. MEDLINE® and PUBMED databases were searched for publications useful or potentially useful for this review. The NIH and CDC websites were also searched for relevant materials. Search terms included vaccination, pharmacist, economic, pharmacoeconomics, cost, benefits cost-effectiveness, physicians, immunizations, vaccinations, pharmacy vaccines, cost, physician vaccines, financial, benefit, ambulatory pharmacist vaccination, clinical pharmacist, economics, pharmacist vaccine impact. Results: The search yielded a total of 68 articles of which 12 met the criteria to be included in this review. After examining articles for relevance to pharmacy vaccinations, two tables were created to highlight the clinical and economic advantages of the pharmacist as a vaccinator. Conclusion: Pharmacists who administer vaccines are an underutilized provider. This literature review reveals a pattern among studies measuring the pharmacist's impact on vaccination rates, patient preferences, and cost savings. Pharmacists have a history of demonstrated dependability, accuracy, and cost effectiveness. State laws, collaborative agreements, and health plans have continued to prevent patients from using the pharmacy to receive the CDC recommended vaccines. These barriers ultimately delay the Healthy People 2020 goals. Introduction/Background Increasing vaccination rates to reduce infectious diseases remains one of the Healthy People 2020 objectives set forth by the United States Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. 1, 2 Vaccine innovation and increased vaccination rates were linked with increased survival in the 20 th century. However, certain infectious diseases that can be prevented by vaccines, still remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality. 2 Currently there are 17 vaccine-preventable diseases in the United States 1 , including influenza. Although preventable, influenza is one of the leading infections in the United States and accounts for substantial spending on the consequences associated with the virus. 2 Vaccines remain the most cost-effective intervention in clinical prevention of infectious disease and their proper use is essential. 2 Specifically, children's vaccination programs yield a higher return on investment. Children receiving their vaccinations according to the CDC schedule saves 33,000 lives, prevents 14 million instances of disease, reduces health care cost by 9.9billion,andsaves9.9 billion, and saves 9.9billion,andsaves33.4 billion in indirect cost. In spite of the available vaccines, about 42,000 of adults and 300 children die each year from vaccine preventable diseases. 2 The pharmacists' role as vaccinators dates back to the 1800's. The first organized formal vaccination training for pharmacists
Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding vaccination among community pharmacists
Primary Health Care Research & Development, 2022
Background: Healthcare professionals' vaccine recommendation is the most effective method to increase vaccination rates of the community. The vaccine counseling and recommendation behavior of pharmacists, who are among the easily accessible healthcare professionals, are influenced by their knowledge and attitudes about vaccines. Aim: It was aimed to investigate community pharmacists' knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding commonly used vaccines. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted as an online survey with a sample of 1100 community pharmacists in Turkey. Pharmacists were invited to participate in the study by phone calls. A structured survey, which consists of 40 questions to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding vaccines, was sent to the e-mail addresses of pharmacists who volunteered to participate in the study. Findings: A total of 430 pharmacists completed the survey. Thirty percent of pharmacists had lack of knowledge about vaccination during pregnancy, whereas 52.2% and 31.4% of pharmacists believed that tetanus and influenza vaccines should be provided during pregnancy, respectively. Nearly 89% of pharmacists recommended vaccines to patients, mainly for influenza vaccine (83.9%). Only 31.5% of pharmacists had been vaccinated against influenza in the last season, whereas 50.5% had never been vaccinated. Pharmacists who had been vaccinated with influenza vaccine had a high rate of recommending influenza vaccines to the patients. Conclusion: The present study found that vaccination among pharmacists in Turkey and their knowledge on vaccination during pregnancy were low. Further education of pharmacists to improve their knowledge and attitudes toward vaccines is needed.