Immunizing Pharmacists

This past week, Pharmacists were granted authority by the HHS to vaccinate young children ages 3-18 (without a doctor’s order) in an attempt to help families who missed well-visits during the pandemic. 

I want to point out that this is a MAJOR win for pharmacists everywhere! While there have been a lot of different opinions from pharmacists about this change, I am excited because it continues to move our profession forward and show our value.  When I was a newly licensed pharmacist, immunizations were a new territory and at that time we were only allowed to administer Influenza. Look how far we’ve come in 10 years!

Here are some facts;

-Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare providers

-Any immunizing pharmacist is required to complete training and be licensed to give immunizations

-All pharmacists that give vaccinations are also required to be BLS certified

-While doctor’s offices closed during the pandemic, pharmacies stayed open 

Personally I’m excited for this opportunity, let’s do this!