Pharmacists in action – an immunization initiative to meet the unmet public health needs

Pharmacists can play an important role in disease prevention by advocating and administering adult immunization. Today, pharmacy-based immunization services can be found in 20 countries worldwide, allowing vaccinations to be administered in different types of pharmacies. Singapore’s pharmacists will soon be joining to provide expanded role in immunization.

Vaccinations are medications, and medication experts such as the pharmacists and their unique practice settings can expand health access and convenience to improve overall public health. The purpose of having pharmacist-managed immunization service is not to take over the existing systems; rather it is to join the healthcare team to address unmet public health needs. A 2017 prospective, multicenter immunization study conducted in the USA reported that pharmacists increased the number of vaccines administered by 41.4% over a six-month period. In total, 33.5% of identified unmet vaccination needs were resolved by pharmacists during the study period.

In Singapore, only 14 to 20% of people aged 50 and above received the flu vaccines in 2013, and among the same age group, only 5 to 8% received the pneumococcal vaccine. Recognizing the care gaps in disease prevention and reacting to MOH’s call to improve preventative care, in April 2019, the Department of Pharmacy at NUS has partnered with American Pharmacists Association (APhA) to bring the Pharmacy-based Immunization Delivery Certificate Training Program to Singapore. This is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-recognized training program in the USA which has certified more than 300,000 pharmacists as of 2017.

Since the launch of the information session held on 29 May, 2019, close to 30 pharmacists from different health sectors have registered for this program. The first live training seminar will be held on 25 September 2019. For more information about the pharmacy-based immunization delivery certificate training program and registration, please email to phabox16@nus.edu.sg.

Information session was well-attended by the leaders of healthcare institutions,
Ministry of Health and retail community pharmacies

Article by A/Prof Joyce Lee (NUS Pharmacy academic faculty)