Campbell University training pharmacists to become certified immunizers

This article was written for our sponsor, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine.

In the midst of the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, demand for vaccine administration is high. Almost 2.5 million vaccines are given each day in the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, as of April 7, more than 169 million vaccines have been administered in total.

Still, the CDC reports only around 24 percent of adults in the U.S. have been fully vaccinated — which means the vaccination effort is far from over.

In North Carolina, Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences has been working to train pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and students in vaccine administration through their continuing education programs. In doing so, they're increasing the number of medical professionals authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine.

"We've had the opportunity to train over a hundred at this point since December. Just about every one of those individuals that participated was doing it to be able to help the community with a vaccine rollout, which is a real testament to the profession of pharmacy in North Carolina," said Dr. J. Andy Bowman, director of Continuing Professional Education and assistant professor of Pharmacy Practice at Campbell University. "Additionally, we have been training our pharmacy students during our curriculum to give immunizations for a number of years. Pharmacy students didn't always get trained to be immunizers — that's something new that pharmacy schools all over the country are doing now. As long as they are supervised by a pharmacist that is an immunizer, the students can help in the rollout of these vaccines — not only at the big events that you see happening in the civic centers, arenas, and hospitals, but also in a community pharmacy practice setting."

In addition to training pharmacy students, Campbell University also offers Continuing Education programs. These programs allow for the school to train up a variety of practitioners from different specializations to the point where they're also able to provide immunizations.

The COVID-19 PREP Act, or Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, released by the Department of Health and Human Services expands the number of qualified healthcare professionals who are allowed to administer the vaccine, authorizing physicians, nurses and pharmacy technicians to complete the training. That means not only is Campbell training students to administer vaccines, but also these newly authorized medical professionals.

Bowman has personally seen the drive from the medical community to help out in any way they can, and many of the healthcare professionals seeking vaccination authorization have already been in the workforce for decades.

"It's a really unique situation due to the federal U.S. Department of Health and Human Services PREP Act. We now have a mandate that pharmacy technicians can participate as vaccinators, so we have been involved in that training," Bowman said. "We've had two groups now, and we've also been training pharmacists that didn't get that training when they were in pharmacy school."

There are several different COVID vaccines on the market, including Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson. While Moderna and Pfizer shots require a second dose after several weeks, Johnson & Johnson is administered only once — but data has shown the efficacy of the former vaccinations has proven to be higher than the latter.

As vaccine rollout continues, more groups will become eligible to sign up and schedule appointments for their shots. In North Carolina, anyone over the age of 16 is eligible to receive their COVID-19 vaccination.

While demand for vaccines will be increasing, the work Campbell University and other institutions are doing will help expand the workforce in response.

"It's important to recognize that some big changes are happening in the profession that are allowing us to impact this need for the vaccination to be rolled out," said Bowman. "Don't be surprised when you go to your local community pharmacy and someone that you saw as a pharmacy technician for years and years is now the one that may be helping you with your vaccine."

This project was supported by the NC HB 1043 COVID-19 Response through Campbell University, Inc. and the Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine Grant Agreement 25-00

This article was written for our sponsor, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine.