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Posted on 04/12/2022 5:34:40 PM PDT by lightman
Pennsylvania pharmacists want state lawmakers to allow them and trained staff members to continue providing the full range of childhood vaccinations.
They’ve been doing so since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, when a federal emergency order allowed them to vaccinate children 3 and older. One purpose was to make sure children had full access to vaccinations during a time of lockdowns and disruptions to health care.
And since COVID-19 vaccine became available in early 2021, Pennsylvania pharmacists have safely given about 7 million vaccine doses, including nearly half of doses given to children 5-11, according to pharmacists.
Several hundred pharmacists and pharmacy students came to the state Capitol on Tuesday to push for legislation that would make the federal emergency provision permanent.
“The past two years have shown us that we must do everything we can to ensure Pennsylvanians have safe and convenient access to preventive health care services, like vaccinations, close to home,” said Victoria Elliott, a pharmacist and CEO of the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association.
Proposed bills in the state House and Senate would allow pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and interns to give government-approved vaccinations. They must be trained in life-saving skills including CPR.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society, the main group representing doctors in the state, opposes it, saying childhood vaccinations are a key part of overall wellness and should remain the responsibility of physicians.
They further said doctors have full awareness of a child’s overall medical situation, including access to medical records, which can head off things like allergic reactions or determine why it happened. They also are better able to respond to a negative reaction, according to the medical society.
“While the pharmacists play a crucial role in the efficient and accurate provision of health care, they are not providing wellness checks and may not know the medical history of the child,” said Dr. David Talenti, the president of the medical society.
Elliott noted the proposed legislation will require pharmacists, in giving vaccinations, to explain the importance of regular care from a physician. It also will require them to report vaccinations to the state health department.
Elliott said pharmacists aren’t seeking to encroach on the role of physicians.
“They are not physicians. They do not want to be physicians … they want to provide an access point for preventive care,” she said.
Elliott further said that in some rural and “urban desert” areas people don’t have convenient access to a pediatrician or family doctors.
She also said there’s a shortage of doctors, and as recently as the past month pharmacists in Pennsylvania have encountered people who said they couldn’t get a timely appointment with a doctor.
The proposed legislation would apply to pharmacists in stand-alone pharmacies as well as those located in grocery and department stores.
Cathleen Palm, a Pennsylvania advocate for children, said she used to believe it was best for medical care and vaccinations to take place in the same setting for reasons including record keeping.
However, problems with access to health care have changed her mind.
“Health care facilities haven’t made it as easy for parents to get their children in the door, whereas there is more ease [and] timeliness with the pharmacy,” she said.
Elliott said some pharmacists may choose not to give childhood vaccinations for reasons including feeling they aren’t set up for young children.
The emergency authorization allowing pharmacists to give the full range of vaccinations is officially set to expire in October of 2024. However, if the pandemic eases sufficiently it’s possible the federal emergency provision will end sooner, according to Elliott.
Pharmacists who spoke about the issue on Tuesday stressed the value of keeping pharmacists ready for future emergencies.
Prior to the COVID-19 emergency, Pennsylvania pharmacists were allowed to give a small selection of vaccines including flu vaccine to children as young as nine, according to Elliott.
State Rep. Seth Grove, R-York, whose wife is a pharmacist, is the prime sponsor of the House bill. He said 17 states allow pharmacists to vaccinate kids 3 and older, and most other states allow them to vaccinate some children, with various age cutoffs.
This is NOT specifically about COVID injections but about vaccinations in general.
Copays and deductibles associated with Pediatrician office visits may be one of the impediments to childhood vaccinations in general.
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The only reason doctors are against pharmacists giving vaccines is that they want the money from the office visits. There’s no logical reason for them not to.
Cha-ching!
It was more than three decades ago, but we took our son the PA Department of Health’s vaccination clinic because, # 1, our tax money had already paid for it; and the $5.00 asked for those who could afford it was a lot less than a co-pay, even back then.
You appear to be making the assumption that vaxes are free when given at a pharmacy
Keep them from breeding. Either make them gay, sterilize by pumping them full of the wrong hormones, or sterilize via vaccine
It’s none of a pharmacist’s if a doctor does not want his attention to be vaccinated or be prescribed a drug.
Pharmacists are not MD’s.
Nowadays they’re not more than clerks.
No, I am not. I'm saying that the physicians don't want to lose that stream of revenue so they're protesting under the guise that it's somehow less safe for a pharmacist to give the shot than in their office. That is BS, it's strictly because they want the money. I'm sure the pharmacist wants the money also. Neither of which changes the fact that the physician's argument is BS.
Years ago my state allowed you to buy rabies vaccines for your dog over the counter at farm supply stores. The vast majority of pet owners vaccinated their dogs that way, it was about $5 a dose. The veterinarians didn't like that people weren't coming to them and paying $30-50 to have them vaccinate their dogs so they lobbied the legislature to outlaw the OTC sale of the vaccines, which they did. It had nothing to do with safety, the vets didn't like losing out on the money. The effect it has was that now most dogs in rural areas are unvaccinated because it's too much trouble to make an appointment, take time off of work, catch the dog and take it to town then pay $50 for the vaccination. In the past you stopped by the co-op and bought the vaccine, loaded the syringe, called the dog to you, lifted the skin on the back of it's neck and gave it the injection. It literally took about a minute to give the vaccine and the dog was done for a year. Now hardly anyone vaccinates their dog because it's a PITA and expensive. That's the result of a bunch of greedy "professionals" trying to manipulate the law for money instead of being concerned with public welfare.
What would that say if it was translated into English?
It’s none of a pharmacist’s if a doctor does not want his attention to be vaccinated or be prescribed a drug.
What would that say if it was translated into English?
—
Lol. That’s pretty bad. that’s what I get for not proof reading.
Should have been:
It’s none of a pharmacist’s business if a doctor does not want his patient to be vaccinated or be prescribed a drug.
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