Q&A: Community Pharmacies Help Increase Immunization Convenience, Uptake

Due to events stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, community pharmacists have since been touted as the most convenient and accessible health care providers for patients seeking immunization. In a world where patients mostly went to physicians for their immunization needs, community pharmacies have become the ideal destination for receiving vaccinations.

“Community pharmacies are open on weekends [and] late in the evening,” said Hashim Zaibak, PharmD, CEO of Hayat Pharmacy. “It's a lot more convenient for people who are busy to come and get the vaccine in a community pharmacy vs getting it in a clinic or by appointment.”

Zaibak discussed the convenience offered through community pharmacies and how these locations have stepped up to boost vaccine uptake. | image credit: Dara / stock.adobe.com

Zaibak founded Hayat Pharmacy in 2011 and operates 19 pharmacy locations across southeastern Wisconsin. Throughout the pandemic, Hayat Pharmacy administered over 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines and has since been administering a variety of immunizations to its community.

To better understand how Hayat’s immunization services have evolved since the pandemic, Zaibak joined Drug Topics to discuss the convenience of community pharmacies and how these locations have stepped up to boost vaccine uptake.

READ MORE: Pharmacists Help Emphasize Importance of Immunizations for Patients

Drug Topics: What is the importance of immunization as a whole, and how have community pharmacists in particular been able to step in and manage patients’ vaccinations?

Hashim Zaibak, PharmD: When it comes to vaccination, it is definitely one of the most effective ways to reduce infectious disease in a community, whether it is COVID, [influenza, or] meningitis. It's obviously scientifically proved to be effective. When it comes to community pharmacy, it is the most accessible location to get a vaccination.

You can walk into a community pharmacy and get vaccinated 7 days a week. You don't have to make an appointment. Community pharmacies are open on weekends [and] late in the evening. It's a lot more convenient for people who are busy to come and get the vaccine in a community pharmacy vs getting it in a clinic or by appointment.

Drug Topics: As an independent community pharmacy, how have your vaccination services changed since the pandemic compared with before?

Zaibak: Before the pandemic, it was mainly the flu vaccine. More than 90% of the vaccines we administered before the pandemic were influenza vaccines. Randomly, we would [administer] other vaccines. People thought, ‘Oh, I need to go to the doctor to get my vaccines.’ But with the pandemic, people recognized that pharmacists are truly the most accessible health care providers [and] that pharmacists are easy to talk to.

In this location..., we gave over 100,000 COVID-19 vaccines in this building. People started to recognize that pharmacists can vaccinate and administer other vaccines. Now we get requests for a lot of different [ones].

People can come and get vaccines at our pharmacy 7 days a week, and they can vaccinate their children and...parents. It's a lot more convenient, and I think that convenience will make it easier for us to reach people that normally we don't reach because of how busy people are. The more convenient it is, the more likely people are going to get vaccinated.

READ MORE: Immunization Resource Center

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