Pharmacist Intervention in Flu Vaccination Programs in Community Pharmacies in Europe
January 16, 2020
The national that runs from October 15th, 2019 to January 31st, 2020 is near to its close. The Social Security Funding Act in France for 2019 has included vaccination among the missions of pharmacists.
The previous 2018/2019 campaign reached a vaccination coverage of 47.2% for population at high risk of developing flu-related complications. A pilot program was successfully conducted in two regions, New Aquitaine and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with 3,000 community pharmacists participating in the flu immunization. For the 2019/2020 flu campaign, all pharmacists in France will have the opportunity to enroll in this program. As of October 2019, and in just one month, the one million thresholds for patients vaccinated against flu in pharmacies has been reached, according to Féderation des Syndicats des Pharmaceutiques de France (FSPF).
The target population for this healthcare intervention is adults (at least 18 years of age) belonging to one of the following categories:
- People aged 65 years and over
- People with certain chronic conditions
- Pregnant women, regardless of the trimester of pregnancy
- Obese people with a BMI 40 kg/m2
- People living with infants under 6 months with risk factors for severe influenza: premature babies, children with congenital heart disease, congenital immune disease, pulmonary, neurological or neuromuscular disease
- People living with immunosuppressed patients
- Patients staying in a follow-up care facility as well as in a healthcare institution
- Health professionals and any professional in regular and prolonged contact with
- People at risk of severe influenza
- Personnel navigating cruise ships and planes
- Travel industry staff accompanying travel groups