Immunization

Patients who received a flu shot during the last flu season were significantly less likely to test positive for a COVID-19 infection at the start of the pandemic, according to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Pharmacist-led services are not only important during COVID-19 immunization efforts in the United States, but are additionally critical in vaccination endeavors globally.

The results from a phase 3 trial in a population of American adolescents aged 12 to 15 years found that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine BNT162b2 showed 100% efficacy and robust antibody responses.

The Biden administration has moved to activate 40,000 local pharmacies within the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, which is a part of the administration’s national COVID-19 vaccination strategy.

The APhA and the CDC announced that they have entered into a collaborative agreement focused on supporting the role of pharmacists in building the public’s confidence in COVID-19 vaccines.

This week on Pharmacy Times, there are a number of important topics that will be covered and posted throughout the week.

Daily national surveys by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) show that although COVID-19 vaccine uptake has increased, the proportion of vaccine-hesitant adults has remained unchanged.

The pharmacy community has stepped up mightily to ensure this massive health care effort is successful.

A prognostic COVID-19 Severity Test has been launched for the identification of high-risk individuals who are likely to experience the most severe COVID-19 complications upon exposure to the virus.

Researchers found no evidence that protection against COVID-19 reinfection declined within a 6-month follow-up period.

As the pandemic has continued, it has helped shine a light on how important pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and pharmacy technicians can help impact their communities.

Shoulder injuries are a real concern because some health care workers may be new to administering vaccines.

Farah Towfic, PharmD, MBA, director, CEO operations at US Pharmacopeia (USP), discusses USP’s release of an updated version of its COVID-19 Vaccine Handling Toolkit in response to feedback from independent pharmacies to mass vaccination clinics.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted pharmacy practice due to its role in supporting overwhelmed physicians, nurses, and other health care professionals who faced some of the immediate challenges of the crisis.

Pharmacies can reach patients who are not receiving vaccines from a pharmacy but are willing to receive them.

This vaccine rollout has become even more crucial for the US health care system, as new mutations of the coronavirus continue to emerge.

Following a review of the latest interim data released by AstraZeneca on its US phase 3 clinical trial assessing the 2-dose AZD1222 COVID-19 vaccine, the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) expressed concern at the inclusion of what may have been outdated data.

Phase 3 clinical testing of a plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate in combination with a pandemic adjuvant commenced following approval to proceed with participant enrollment from regulatory authorities in both Canada and the United States.

The independent data safety monitoring board conducted a specific review of thrombotic events related to AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine and found no increased risk.

The first participants were dosed in the phase 2/3 KidCOVE study investigating vaccine candidate mRNA-1273 against COVID-19 in children aged 6 months to less than 12 years of age.

This week on Pharmacy Times, there are a number of important topics that will be covered and posted throughout the week.

In a recent interview with Pharmacy Times, Raj Desai, PharmD, MBA, discussed a recent COVID-19 vaccination event at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital, where he is the director of pharmacy.

Community pharmacists have an essential role to play during this phase of the crisis that could further entrench them as the epicenter of care in the communities they serve.

One recent study found COVID-19 antibodies in all 20 pregnant women and their newborns.

Health care professionals should address potential barriers to completing the COVID-19 vaccination series, including scheduling second-dose appointments at the first-dose administration and sending reminders for second-dose visits.