Vaccine Readiness Revisited: What Went Well

In December 2020, the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada (Neighbourhood Pharmacies) collaborated with the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) on a COVID-19 Vaccine and Pharmacy Readiness Report (“Vaccine Readiness”) outlining the case for the community pharmacy channel to be a key component of COVID-19 vaccine administration across the country, alongside other healthcare providers. This report highlighted factors such as community pharmacy’s accessibility and convenience for Canadians, the sector’s proven experience administering vaccines, and its supportive digital infrastructure.

As the report notes: "The trusted, longitudinal relationships pharmacy teams have with patients to combat vaccine hesitancy and increase uptake were other noted key elements. Governments agreed! Community pharmacy was clearly a necessary channel for effective, equitable and efficient vaccine deployment. Community pharmacies began administering COVID-19 vaccines to eligible Canadians in Alberta in February 2021. Since then, community pharmacies across the country have administered more than 12 million COVID-19 vaccine doses – including first, second, third/booster doses as well as pediatric doses."

One year later, the association is reflecting on its recommendations in Vaccine Readiness Revisited: What Went Well.

The Vaccine Readiness report put forward seven recommendations to governments to maximize community pharmacy’s role in helping Canada achieve its goal of vaccinating all Canadians by the end of 2021. Throughout the year, Neighbourhood Pharmacies advanced these recommendations through advocacy, engagement, and communication activities, and to support community pharmacy operators in their vaccination efforts.

Here are those key recommendations:

• Provide clear communications from all levels of government on timing and execution of administration plans.
• Provide clear, consistent, and frequent public service announcements to all heath providers regarding patient prioritization and instructions for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Ensure transparent and committed allocation of inventory to the community pharmacy sector.
• Distribute COVID-19 vaccines through the current pharmaceutical distribution system.
• Provide the necessary supplies needed for pharmacists to immunize Canadians.
• Vaccinate pharmacists as essential front-line healthcare workers.
• Ensure a vaccine administration fee that reflects the added time and complexity of administration and education related to this novel vaccine.

Conclusion

"In 2021, Neighbourhood Pharmacies successfully advocated for the administration of COVID-19 vaccines in pharmacies nationwide, helping bring the vaccine to over 12 million Canadians. This clearly demonstrates the extent to which community pharmacy can be an integral health and public health partner when fully enabled, and is a stellar example of how our hard work over the past decade has moved us forward to a new level of involvement and recognition in healthcare. We look forward to continued progress in 2022!"

So - how well have pharmacists done?

Read more from the report to find out.