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Pharmacy Times
Gearing Up for Vaccine Season
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Key Takeaways
- Pharmacies are crucial in facilitating back-to-school immunizations, offering convenient appointments and extended hours to address access gaps.
- Pharmacists are authorized to administer vaccines to children and adolescents in many states, expanding immunization opportunities.
Pharmacies enhance public health by providing essential back-to-school vaccinations and addressing vaccine hesitancy, ensuring community protection this fall.
As summer winds down, pharmacies nationwide prepare for a critical role in public health: ensuring communities are protected before the back-to-school season and the annual surge in respiratory illnesses.
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August is a pivotal month for routine childhood immunizations. Many children need vaccines like meningococcal and measles-mumps-rubella before returning to classrooms. Pharmacies are stepping up to help fill the gaps in access, offering convenient vaccine appointments, extended hours, and walk-in services. In many states, pharmacists are authorized to administer vaccines to children and adolescents, expanding immunization opportunities for busy families.
In this month’s cover feature, Delia Saber, MPH, explores pharmacies’ role in back-to-school immunizations, particularly amid growing vaccine hesitancy from parents and caregivers. Public health efforts and pharmacy services can closely align, with pharmacists at the forefront of providing trusted information to patients with questions.
At the same time, pharmacy teams are preparing for the fall respiratory virus season. Updated influenza vaccines, COVID-19 boosters, and the newly approved respiratory syncytial virus vaccines for older adults will soon become available. Some pharmacies coordinate efforts to administer multiple vaccines in a single visit, reducing patient burden while maximizing protection.
August is also National Immunization Awareness Month (NIAM), an annual observance highlighting the importance of vaccination for people of all ages. Pharmacy teams are using NIAM to educate patients about staying current on recommended vaccines, from childhood immunization to adult boosters and seasonal vaccines. Jennifer Gershman, PharmD, CPh, PACS, discusses how to incorporate these conversations into medication therapy management (MTM) consults in this month’s MTM Focus article.
Pharmacies are also working to address vaccine hesitancy, providing trusted counseling on safety, effectiveness, and potential adverse effects. As the health care landscape evolves, pharmacy’s role as an accessible vaccination hub remains more critical than ever.
As always, thank you for reading.
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