Integrating Pharmacies into Pandemic Influenza Vaccine Response Planning

introduction: Vaccination remains the best protection from influenza infection.  To maximize the impact of a pandemic influenza vaccination program, vaccination must be initiated as rapidly as possible.  Because there are over 230,000 immunization-trained pharmacists in the US and over 90% of the US population lives within 5 miles of a pharmacy, comprehensive pandemic vaccine response planning with pharmacists has the potential to greatly expand the number of  pandemic vaccination providers and improve vaccine access for the public.  To assess pandemic vaccine response readiness, CDC collects preparedness activity information from state and local immunization programs (IP).

methods: We examined IP data from the 2012 and 2013 annual IP evaluations and from an assessment conducted during CDC’s 2013 response to influenza A (H7N9) to analyze pharmacies’ integration into public health pandemic vaccine planning.

results: In the 2012 annual IP assessment of 64 IP, 78.7% of 61 responding IP included pharmacists in their list of potential pandemic vaccine providers and 80.4% included pharmacies in their overall plan, though only 8.20% reported exercising those plans with pharmacies. In the May 2013 H7N9 assessment, 87.2% reported that pharmacists were included in their list of pandemic providers, though in the 2013 annual assessment, only 21.3% reported formalizing agreements with pharmacies to provide pandemic vaccinations through memorandums of agreement (MOAs).

conclusions: Most IP have considered pharmacists as potential vaccinators at some level in their pandemic planning, but there is a need for further planning such as conducting joint vaccination exercises and formalizing plans through MOAs with pharmacies.