AVAILABILITY AND STORAGE OF VACCINES IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES

Abstract

Setting In populations with lower vaccination
rates, social determinants of health contribute to
vaccine inequality and increase the risk of
consequences from infectious illnesses. The
ability of pharmacists to prescribe and
administer vaccinations has been granted in
several countries, leading to an increase in
immunization rates. On the other hand, little is
known about how they identify and attack
susceptible populations.
Goal This research aims to explain the ways in
which community pharmacies target
disadvantaged populations.
Techniques The Preferred Reporting Items for
Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses
procedures (PRISMA ScR) served as our
inspiration for our August 2021 systematic
search of the Embase and MEDLINE databases.
Articles targeting a vulnerable population and
discussing any vaccination in the context of a
community pharmacy in English, French, or
Spanish were reviewed for inclusion.
Outcomes 63 articles out of the 1039 that were
found in the first search satisfied the inclusion
requirements.
The majority of the literature (n = 54, 86%)
came from North America and dealt with
pneumococcal (n = 14, 22%), herpes zoster (n =
14, 22%), influenza (n = 29, 46%), or human
papilloma virus immunization (n = 14, 22%).
Age and pregnancy were the most often utilized
lifecycle vulnerabilities (n = 48, 76%) to identify
individuals at risk, followed by clinical variables
(n = 18, 29%), socioeconomic determinants (n =
16, 25%), and regional vulnerabilities (n = 7,
11%). The strategies that were mentioned the
most were giving a strong recommendation for
vaccination, distributing leaflet/bag stufers,
making promotional posters in pharmacies, and
offering staff training. Twenty-four obstacles
and twenty-five enablers were identified.
Effective advertising methods were linked to the
primary obstacles faced by each vulnerable
group.
In summary Narrowing the definition of
vulnerability is not as important to pharmacists
as lifecycle and clinical vulnerability. In
pharmacies, certain vulnerable populations are
also not given enough attention. Pharmacies may
use a broad range of promotional strategies to
get beyond the unique obstacles that different
groups face.