Vaccine preventable Errors: Current Prevalence and Solutions to Minimize Future Errors
by Allison M. Samuel, 2021 PharmD Candidate, Gabriela M. Loveland, 2021 PharmD Candidate, Mary S. Hayney, PharmD, MPH
"Over the past three decades, pharmacy-based immunization services have become increasingly common. Just under one-third of immunized adults received their seasonal influenza vaccine in a pharmacy in 2017, and those rates are predicted to rise each year thereafter. Currently in the state of Wisconsin, pharmacists are able to immunize anybody over the age of six years old with any vaccine that is indicated within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunization schedule. Because this law allows pharmacists to offer vaccinations without a prescription or protocol with a physician, pharmacists have been progressively able to provide this vital service to their patients. In 2019 Wisconsin pharmacists capabilities were expanded – pharmacists can now administer vaccines to children under the age of six years with a valid prescription written fewer than 30 days ago. With these changes, pharmacists can now participate in immunization efforts across the age span. As pharmacists are extremely accessible providers for immunizations and have continually broadened their vaccine services since the authority to immunize was granted, it is important to revisit the basics on how to properly administer, document, and store vaccines within the pharmacy to prevent vaccination-related errors."
Keywords: Adult, Child, Immunization Schedule, Influenza Vaccines, Pharmacists, Wisconsin, Seasons, Vaccination, Immunization, Pharmaceutical Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
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2020 September/October Table of Contents
"Over the past three decades, pharmacy-based immunization services have become increasingly common. Just under one-third of immunized adults received their seasonal influenza vaccine in a pharmacy in 2017, and those rates are predicted to rise each year thereafter. Currently in the state of Wisconsin, pharmacists are able to immunize anybody over the age of six years old with any vaccine that is indicated within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) immunization schedule. Because this law allows pharmacists to offer vaccinations without a prescription or protocol with a physician, pharmacists have been progressively able to provide this vital service to their patients. In 2019 Wisconsin pharmacists capabilities were expanded – pharmacists can now administer vaccines to children under the age of six years with a valid prescription written fewer than 30 days ago. With these changes, pharmacists can now participate in immunization efforts across the age span. As pharmacists are extremely accessible providers for immunizations and have continually broadened their vaccine services since the authority to immunize was granted, it is important to revisit the basics on how to properly administer, document, and store vaccines within the pharmacy to prevent vaccination-related errors."
Keywords: Adult, Child, Immunization Schedule, Influenza Vaccines, Pharmacists, Wisconsin, Seasons, Vaccination, Immunization, Pharmaceutical Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.
Download PDF
2020 September/October Table of Contents