Pharmacists Are Worldwide Vaccination Leaders

“Pharmacists in the United States have established themselves as valuable members of the immunization neighborhood”, said Dominique Jordan, a pharmacist in Switzerland. 

“Moreover, pharmacists across the world are following their lead.”

World Immunization Week 2018, an initiative led by the World Health Organization (WHO), is an opportunity to spread the word about how pharmacists can help save millions of lives as immunizers and educators.

The theme of this year’s World Immunization Week is “Protected Together, #VaccinesWork.”

Which is needed, since global efforts to enhance uptake of immunizations have stalled, reports the WHO.

“This is an important message to get out to our communities, especially in the face of recent misinformation campaigns that have decreased immunization coverage,” said Dominique Jordan, who serves as chair of the International Pharmaceutical Federation’s (FIP) Board of Pharmaceutical Practice. 

World Immunization Week aims to drive immunization coverage by spotlighting the roles governments, public health organizations, healthcare providers, caregivers, and advocates can have in advancing these efforts.

“Pharmacists around the world are ensuring that vaccines reach people. Most countries have still not reached optimal vaccination coverage in several important diseases,” Jordan said.

“If pharmacists were authorized to administer vaccines since we are the most accessible health care professional and ideally positioned to reach people who do not often visit their physician, the gains could be huge.”

Pharmacists and others who want to participate in World Immunization Week can use the #vaccineswork hashtag on their social media posts on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms.

“We can all play a part in spreading the message about our value, and so I would suggest readers follow FIP on social media and share, share, share, between April 24 and 30,” Jordan said.

"We, as pharmacists, interact with our patients on a frequent basis.  This allows us many opportunities to talk with our patients, go over their immunization history, and make sure they are up to date on routine vaccinations, “ said Alexandria Duffield, Pharm.D. MTM Clinical Pharmacist at Brookshire Grocery Company.

“Taking this initiative will help in the fight against vaccine-preventable diseases,” continued Duffield.

In the USA, if federal law authorized pharmacists to administer all approved Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended vaccines, patients would live healthier lives, says a new study by the Pacific Research Institute.

Too many people become sick, are hospitalized, or die from vaccine-preventable illnesses each year, reported this new research.

“Adult vaccines can improve people’s health,” said Wayne Winegarden, Ph.D., author of “Promoting Access and Lowering Costs in Health Care.”

“But, our nation’s vaccine rates are unacceptably low. Making vaccines more accessible will help reverse this trend.”

Currently, pharmacists in the USA are subject to a patchwork of laws in each state that are effective barriers to vaccines being administered at neighborhood pharmacies.

These complex access barriers exist, even though pharmacists receive vaccination training in their pharmacy school education.

“In many states, outdated state laws unjustifiably limit patients’ access to vaccinations from providers who may be more convenient and less expensive,” Winegarden said.

Empowering pharmacists to administer vaccines also serves as an important case study for the broader healthcare system.

Increasing access across the healthcare system can provide patients with more choices, increase overall health care quality, and effectively “bend the healthcare cost curve”, said this research.

Visit FIP’s website at www.fip.org to access the videos, and follow FIP on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FIPpharmacists, on Twitter at @fiporg, and on LinkedIn.