Pharmacy team members are an integral part of vaccination efforts in the United States. According to the CDC, as of May 11, 2022, more than 248 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in pharmacies across the United States.1 This includes more than 8 million doses that pharmacists administered at long-term care facilities in 2021 to some of the most vulnerable patients in the nation. Pharmacists, student pharmacist interns, and pharmacy technicians, however, have given substantially more immunizations than those documented by the CDC for COVID-19 vaccines. They also administer seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines and routine adult and pediatric vaccines. Even before the pandemic, pharmacy team members played a major role in immunizations. During the 2020-2021 influenza season, more than 47 million doses of flu vaccine were administered to adults in US pharmacies, compared with 32 million doses administered in physician offices.2
2022 ACIP Updates for Immunizations in Adults and Children: What Pharmacists Need to Know
June 23, 2022