The below story was originally published in the Washington Times here and was written by Rick Gates, Rich Tremonte, and Robert Popovian.
The date when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, Dec. 11, 2020, was a seminal moment in human achievement. Never had a safe and effective vaccine been developed, tested, and approved so swiftly. But for history to record that date as the beginning of the end of the pandemic, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and all others approved for COVID-19 must be accessible to everyone — particularly those with limited means and the highest risk of exposure.
That is why pharmacists need full authority to administer all FDA-approved or authorized for emergency use vaccines, including those for COVID-19. However, state laws place a wide variety of restrictions on the types of vaccines pharmacists may administer. Those laws run afoul of public health and must be repealed.
Pharmacists have played an instrumental role in the response to the pandemic since it began, accelerating COVID-19 testing availability and ensuring access to essential medicines and prescriptions, and they are now uniquely positioned to ensure a successful vaccine rollout.
That work has already begun in earnest. Over the past two months, Walgreens has administered 6 million vaccines to residents and workers of long-term care facilities and other vulnerable populations. To ensure vaccines are accessible for at-risk populations, Walgreens will be hosting COVID-19 vaccine clinics in more than 100 underserved areas across the country and working with trusted community partners such as faith leaders and community organizers to address vaccine hesitancy.
In February, the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program began sending vaccines directly to 21 national pharmacy chains nationwide. In addition to helping our nation’s largest chains, this program has given independent community pharmacies, such as those in AmerisourceBergen’s Good Neighbor Pharmacy Network, the ability to become active participants in the vaccination effort. According to the National Community Pharmacists Association, 60% of rural ZIP codes and 52% of ZIP codes located in medically underserved areas have an independent community pharmacy that immunizes — making these healthcare destinations essential in the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.
It is heartening that vaccine supply is slated to increase significantly as we head into spring and summer. Vaccine-makers have pledged to increase our national supply to 240 million vaccines by the end of March. But supply must be matched by accessibility and assurances that priority populations can obtain vaccines. For instance, data shows that not enough vaccines are getting to people of color. And it is much harder for people without easy access to a healthcare provider to obtain a vaccine.
As trusted sources of healthcare services in communities nationwide, pharmacists are particularly well suited to address these disparities. And that trust is matched by convenience and connection to their communities: About 90% of people in the United States live within 5 miles of a community pharmacy, including independently owned pharmacies, traditional drugstores, and pharmacies in grocery stores and mass retailers.
However, states need to step up and ensure pharmacists can administer vaccines during the pandemic and beyond. As part of the current public health emergency under which our nation is operating, pharmacists have universal authority to administer COVID-19 vaccines in every state. But current state laws vary widely with respect to which vaccines pharmacists may administer and to which populations. For example, in some states, pharmacists can only administer certain vaccines if a provider writes a prescription. The public health emergency supersedes these restrictions for purposes of COVID-19 vaccines, but that declaration is temporary. And state restrictions will remain on the books once the declaration is lifted.
These restrictions simply do not make sense. Pharmacies are being counted on to help end the current pandemic because they’ve done it before: During the H1N1 crisis, for example, Walgreens administered millions of new flu vaccines as soon as they became available, and pharmacies have played key roles during past measles and meningitis outbreaks as well. Pharmacists need the ability to vaccinate not only during this pandemic but also during the next one, wherever and whenever it strikes, and the ability to protect against vaccine-preventable diseases during normal times.
That is why we are working together and with our partners in the American Disease Prevention Coalition to urge state governments to pass laws that permanently remove all excessive restrictions on pharmacist-administered vaccines. That will ensure we can continue to administer COVID-19 vaccines, even when the national public health emergency is lifted, and all other vaccines that play such a pivotal role in protecting people’s health. This pandemic has shown that preparedness should not be rolled back because time is of the essence when a crisis strikes.
Pharmacists’ critical, lifesaving role in our nation’s healthcare system has never been more apparent. When the book is eventually written about how the world finally stopped COVID-19, pharmacists will have their own, deserved chapter in that story — and their contributions to that effort, more than a year after they started, are only just beginning.
Rick Gates is senior vice president of pharmacy and healthcare at Walgreens. Rich Tremonte is president of community and specialty pharmacy at AmerisourceBergen. Robert Popovian is chief science policy officer at the Global Healthy Living Foundation and senior health policy fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.