A “small number” of pharmacies have offered to administer newly approved COVID-19 vaccines | news

Only a “small number” of independent multiples have applied to administer the recently approved COVID-19 vaccination from designated pharmacy-led sites, the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies (AIMP) said.

Talking with The Pharmaceutical Journal, Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of AIMP, said that since the criteria were published by NHS England on November 27, 2020, its members have “actively sought” to see how they can get involved in the “historic” vaccination program. .

“A small number of our members have advanced applications to run very well thought-out vaccination centers,” he said.

“The trial has sadly proven not to be very supportive of community pharmacies and has discouraged more than our members from applying.”

A spokesperson for the National Pharmacy Association said he expected few pharmacies to provide the first phase of the vaccines.

“Although the number of pharmacies involved in the initial phase may be small, we expect the pharmacy network to be a central element of the program as it expands,” they said.

“Pharmacies can be particularly important in achieving uptake in poorer communities, due to the generally high level of access to pharmacies in poor neighborhoods.”

This comes when the mRNA vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech became the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for widespread use in the UK and will start rolling out next week. The UK has already ordered 40 million doses, with 800,000 doses expected to arrive in the coming days.

June Raine, chief executive officer of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said she had carried out an “extremely thorough and scientifically rigorous review” of all evidence surrounding the mRNA vaccine to ensure it met the “rigorous” required standard of safety, efficacy and quality.

He added that despite the speed with which the vaccine was made available, “no stones were left intact.”

Wei Shen Lim, chair of COVID-19 immunization within the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, said age is the “single most important factor” in prioritizing groups that would be vaccinated in the former. phase of the vaccination schedule. Therefore, the top priority for vaccination are residents in aged care homes and their carers, followed by all 80 and older and frontline health and social workers.

Lim said the vaccine would be offered on a voluntary basis but that, in the first phase of the vaccination program, he hoped that “90-99 percent of people at risk of dying from COVID-19 will be included or covered.”

It was also pointed out that no specific precautions would be needed before giving the vaccine to people who had already had COVID-19 and that COVID-19 testing would not be required before receiving the vaccine.

After the vaccine is distributed, the MHRA will carry out “active surveillance”, including a yellow card and a “special active monitoring program” that people will be invited to join via a letter.

Sandra Gidley, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said the organization is now taking steps to understand the logistical arrangements for the vaccination program.

However, he said pharmacists needed “assurances” from the NHS and governments that the program would not disrupt the “already strained” pharmacy workforce, but would “make way for” greater collaboration among healthcare professionals. and minimized the impact on routine practice.

“Safety is absolutely our number one priority, both for patients and for those who administer the vaccine,” he said.

“Pharmacists and their teams have cared for the public and exposed themselves to the virus throughout the pandemic, so it’s only right that they are protected with this vaccine and continue to receive all forms of protective equipment.”

Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said community pharmacies could be involved early next year. He said: “As more vaccines become available, finally, we will be able to turn on large vaccination centers across the country and invite local community pharmacists to – probably in early January – to offer vaccination as well.” .

Quote: The Pharmaceutical Journal, PJ December 2020 online, online | DOI: 10.1211 / PJ.2020.20208619