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From March 1. an advanced practice pharmacist at the pharmacy will be able to vaccinate the population with seasonal vaccines against influenza, tick-borne encephalitis, and other infectious diseases.
One of them is the Covid-19 infection that has brought the whole world to its knees. However, while the previous government sought to advance this procedure as much as possible and presented a plan to vaccinate as many people as possible with Covid-19 vaccines in the shortest possible time, vaccination against the coronavirus in pharmacies still does not seem feasible.
There are not enough vaccines
According to the president of the Seimas Health Affairs Commission, Antanas Matulas, one of the main reasons is that there are not enough vaccines to carry out large-scale vaccinations.
“Covid-19 vaccination will definitely be considered, but the problem is that there is no way to get the vaccine yet. However, when you do, there may be a network of pharmacies that can do it. This will certainly be considered, both more so as you already have experience with other seasonal vaccines.
Obviously, this is not a Pfizer vaccine, because it is necessary to ensure a cold chain here. But so far all this is just a theory, because even before mass vaccination has to be accessed, it is necessary to have vaccines, perhaps even individuals will have the opportunity to buy them, “explained the parliamentarian.
However, according to the interlocutor, although such a possibility would be considered, it could not happen until a few months later.
For its part, the Ministry of Health reported that it has not yet been decided whether the country’s pharmacies will be vaccinated with the coronavirus vaccine.
Vaccinated only in the main cities?
Pharmacy representatives say preparations are still underway and there is no guarantee that there will be a chance of getting vaccinated on March 1.
“The pharmacy network plans to implement this service in pharmacies, preparations are underway. Currently, pharmacists who want to participate in training and vaccinate patients are being selected, they are registering and the places where they will be they could carry out vaccinations. We cannot guarantee if we will really start providing this service from March 1, but we are trying to make it happen, “said Žiedūnė Juškytė, representative of Camelia.
According to her, vaccination will be carried out first in large cities, if necessary, it is expected that the service will also be provided in smaller regions.
For his part, Laimonas Devyžis, chairman of the board of Eurovaistinė, stated that the possibility of getting vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis and influenza in a pharmacy is a priority project of the company this year. It is expected to be implemented from the second half of March.
L. Devyžis said that in March it is planned to begin providing this service in eight network pharmacies in five major cities, for which more than fifty pharmacists are currently preparing. However, it is planned to go further and expand this service at most of the network pharmacies in the future.
Prepare e. health and premises
Kristina Nemaniūtė-Gagė, director of the Lithuanian Pharmacy Association, said the latest e. stages of health preparation so that the vaccinating pharmacist can see the health information of the patients required by the vaccination service and record the vaccinations carried out in pharmacies.
“As this is a new activity for pharmacies, it is still a new challenge to understand and start working with new institutions on licensing and regulation, but pharmacies are completing the work by adapting existing offices in pharmacies for vaccination and installing new ones.
“Pharmacies evaluate where vaccination is most relevant and convenient for clients, but it must also comply with certain spaces and other requirements, so vaccination services will be available in those pharmacies where possible under current legislation and where it would be more convenient for patients, “he said. head of the association.
L. Devižys added that due to requirements, of course, vaccination services will not be possible in smaller pharmacies at the moment, but in the future it is planned to open new pharmacies or rebuild existing ones.
Temperature mode is not intimidating
However, the possibility of vaccinating people with Covid-19 in pharmacies is not yet known.
“It is clear that tick-borne encephalitis and seasonal flu will be vaccinated in pharmacies. Also, pharmacists are currently waiting to be vaccinated against COVID-19,” said Ž. Juškytė.
According to K. Nemaniūtė-Gagė, pharmacies are also expected to get involved and can contribute to the COVID-19 vaccination process to vaccinate as many of the population as possible against the current pandemic.
“Considering that the availability of pharmacies and the trust of pharmacists in Lithuania is high, we have faith that this will encourage as many people as possible to get vaccinated and thus create a common immunity as soon as possible.
Pharmacies still have products with different temperature regimes, pharmacists also know how to handle special storage of preparations, so the temperature regimen of vaccines is not intimidating, we are ready, ”he said.
L. Devyžis also did not rule out the possibility that in the future it will be possible to receive the coronavirus vaccine at the pharmacy.
“We are ready to participate in the process of handling the pandemic and as soon as possible we will endeavor to comply with the requirements,” he said.
Vaccines against influenza and tick-borne encephalitis are being introduced in pharmacies, as they are among the most popular and relevant in society.
Pharmacists are still learning
As of March 1. In order to be vaccinated in pharmacies, training to train advanced practice pharmacists will begin in February.
The training will consist of two parts: theoretical and practical. The latter, once the theoretical exam has been passed, will begin on February 8.
During the training, pharmacists will acquire all the necessary knowledge for vaccination: knowledge of vaccination techniques, vaccine storage rules, disease prevention and control, vaccination recommendations, development of immunity, possible side effects.
Advanced Practice Pharmacists are trained by the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, and this program is expected to be offered by Vilnius University in the near future.
Currently, to be able to get vaccinated, even if you are healthy, you have to queue at the GP, so it is believed that the new procedure will allow you to get vaccinated faster, sometimes without even visiting a medical institution.
This is also expected to make vaccines more attractive to citizens who fear queues at treatment facilities, and the burden to be distributed more evenly among healthcare professionals.
Practice in other countries shows that initiating vaccination in pharmacies increases the number of people vaccinated. Vaccines in pharmacies are already available in many countries; patients in Norway, Portugal, Sweden and other countries are already evaluating them.
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