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Pharmacy Practice in Focus: Health Systems
Vaccinations Are Major Contributors to Global Health
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Vaccinations are a huge success story in global health care and have helped eliminate smallpox and nearly eradicate polio.
Vaccinations are a huge success story in global health care and have helped eliminate smallpox and nearly eradicate polio. According to the CDC, immunization against deadly diseases saves 2 million to 3 million lives per year.1
The COVID-19 vaccines are no different. Vaccine effectiveness studies provide a growing body of evidence that mRNA COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of contracting the virus, including severe disease, in fully vaccinated individuals by 90% or more.2 Yet vaccine hesitancy or outright opposition is prolonging the pandemic and landing many patients in intensive care units.
According to the results of a survey conducted in August 2021 by Morning Consult, a data intelligence company, 18% of Americans are opposed to getting vaccinated and 10% are hesitant.3
Pharmacists can help combat hesitancy and opposition by providing facts about vaccines. One good resource is the American Hospital Association, which offers information on its website for hospital employees so that they can reassure patients about the COVID-19 vaccine.4
Health systems have also started to look inward, and as of September 1, 166 are requiring mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for their employees. These include Atrium Health, Banner Health, and Kaiser Permanente.5
Look for continuing COVID-19 vaccine coverage in the coronavirus resource center on PharmacyTimes.com. In addition, with influenza season beginning, check out the influenza resource center for articles about coadministration of the vaccine with routine immunizations and the role pharmacy technicians play in this year’s influenza vaccine campaign.
In this issue of Pharmacy TimesDirections in Health-System Pharmacy™, Kathryn Lincoln, PharmD, BCIDP, and Jerline Hsin, PharmD, BCOP, BCPS, offer information on the rabies pre-exposure vaccination.
In addition, the cover feature, written by Deepali Dixit, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM, and PharmD candidates Winston Su, Olivia Wierciszewski, Kapil Rawal, and Chidambaranathan Sambath, looks at treating post–intensive care syndrome.
Thank you for reading!
