[Young journalist Kim Jiyul] In order to strengthen public health, there was a suggestion that vaccinations should also be available at pharmacies. 

According to the industry on the 8th, Lee JungYeon, who is a professor at Ewha Womans University’s College of Pharmacy, proposed this in a paper published in the recent issues of the Korean Society of Clinic pharmacy. 

Professor Lee JungYeon pointed out that the crisis was repeated due to the COVID-19 pandemic(infectious disease epidemic), such as delayed vaccination, vaccine avoidance, and lack of medical personnel.

 

Nevertheless, pharmacists were not considered as an alternative workforce for vaccination. This is because the current pharmaceutical affairs act and infectious disease prevention act limit the role of pharmacists to the storage and distribution of vaccines, and counseling. 

Professor LeeJungYeon urged that pharmacists should be allowed to administer vaccines, even to prepare for the next pandemic. 

Pharmacist-administered vaccinations are already actively implemented abroad.

According to the World Federation of Pharmacists(FIP), 56 out of 120 participating countries in the world operate pharmacy-based vaccination programs. Among them, 44 countries are found to be directly administered by pharmacists and 26 countries have prescription rights. 

In particular, in the United States, more than 70% of all adult COVID-19 vaccinations have been administered at pharmacies. In the UK, 46% of COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered at pharmacies as of 2023. 

The United States was initially at odds over a role dispute with the medical community. However, with the pharmacy based vaccination certification training program that began in 1996, more than 360,000 certified training pharmacists were allowed to participate in the 2009 flu vaccine and the 2020 COVID-19 vaccine on a large scale. Currently, all states in the United States allow pharmacists to participate in the pneumococcal vaccine flu vaccine RSV(respiratory syncytial virus) shingle vaccine for adults. 

Professor LeeJungYeon insisted that Korea should also take this step.

According to Professor LeeJungYeon, pharmacist-administered vaccination can provide various benefits such as accessibility, flexible operating time, national infectious disease management burden, reduction of unvaccinated people. As a result, it is highly likely to contribute to improving the vaccination rate. 

However, this requires several prerequisites, such as strengthening the capabilities of pharmacists. 

First of all, it is necessary to secure prepared pharmacists through pharmacy based vaccination certification training. This should be prepared for a long period of time before securing legal authority. Many countries already include this in required education for pharmacy. 

Legal basis should also be established. The Enforcement Rules of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act may newly establish provisions that enable pilot projects for pharmacist vaccination, and seek to revise laws that can include tasks such as “administration of vaccine for preventable infectious disease” in the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. 

Collaboration among various stakeholders is also an important task. It is necessary to win public support through consultations with the medical community, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and legislative agencies. 

Professor LeeJungYeon said, “The number of countries participating in vaccinations across six continents around the world continues to increase, and this is the basis for confirming that pharmacists’ participation is not related to medical infrastructure, population, or medical insurance systems”, adding, “The definition that ‘vaccine administration is not a pharmacist's domain is changing.”

▶원문 기사: 약국 백신 접종 허용 논의 불붙나 “넥스트 팬데믹 대비해야”

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