Finnish community pharmacists’ perceptions of the pharmaceutical professionals’ right to administer vaccines
Keywords:
community pharmacy, pharmacist, vaccinationAbstract
There has been discussion in Finland about the possibility of giving pharmacy professionals the vaccination authority. The aim of this study was to investigate the views of community pharmacists on the vaccination authority of pharmacy professionals.
An electronic survey was conducted via the Finnish Pharmacists' Association and The Finnish Pharmacists' Society in January 2023. The data was analysed using frequencies, χ2 and Fisher's tests and content analysis.
There were 452 respondents. 53% of them were in favour of allowing vaccination authority of pharmacy professionals and 42% would be willing to administer vaccines themselves. The most common vaccines that could be administered by pharmacy professionals were the influenza vaccine and the TBE vaccine. The most common potential benefits of the vaccination authority were ease of vaccination for customers, reduced burden on the health care system, and increased vaccination coverage. The most common challenges were organization of vaccination facilities in pharmacies, adverse reactions to vaccines and how to prepare for them, and training and maintaining vaccination skills.
Pharmacists are largely in favour of the vaccination authority of pharmaceutical professionals in Finland. However, careful informed decision-making and appropriate measures will be needed if the vaccination authority is to be made available to pharmacy professionals.
