OPA hosts learning series to celebrate a decade of immunizations in Ontario pharmacies

The Ontario Pharmacists Association has launched a learning series to celebrate a decade of Ontario pharmacists being able to administer immunizations. The first live webinar will be on Thursday, April 28. It will involve a panel of experts including Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health; Marshall Moleschi, former CEO and Registrar of the Ontario College of Pharmacists; and Justin Bates, CEO of OPA. The experts will discuss pharmacy professionals’ role as immunizers and explore policies concerning immunization in Ontario pharmacies and areas for advocacy. The learning series is meant to highlight the importance of safe, convenient and equitable access to immunization, the OPA said in a press release. OPA wants an extended publicly-funded vaccination program in Ontario pharmacies. Influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are the only publicly-funded vaccines available at Ontario pharmacies, although pharmacists have authority to administer vaccines for a number of diseases. “Over the last decade, we have seen Ontarians embrace pharmacies as choice destinations for safe, accessible, and convenient vaccination, with over 50% of flu shots being administered in pharmacies last flu season,” said Jen Belcher, vice president of strategic initiatives and member relations at OPA. “We celebrate all that pharmacy professionals have done to help their communities meet target immunization rates, and hope that pharmacy professionals are enabled to offer all publicly-funded vaccines in the future in our continued efforts to reduce the burden of vaccine-preventable diseases.” Ontario pharmacists with injection training were first able to immunize patients in October 2012. At the time, pharmacists administered influenza vaccines to patients age five years and older. In 2016, pharmacists’ scope of practice was expanded to administer vaccines for 13 vaccine-preventable diseases as well as influenza. In December 2020, pharmacists, pharmacy students, interns and pharmacy technicians with injection training were able to give the influenza vaccine to people aged two years old and older. In March 2021, pharmacy students, interns and pharmacy technicians with injection training were allowed to give COVID-19 vaccines. As of March, 2022, more than 7.5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses were given at Ontario pharmacies. More information about the learning series is available at opatoday.com. Read: Breaking down NAPRA's updates to scope of practice charts for pharmacists and technicians across Canada

OPA hosts learning series to celebrate a decade of immunizations in Ontario pharmacies

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