Community Pharmacy’s Pivotal Role in Boosting Immunization Rates

From barely having the capacity to administer influenza vaccines to becoming a premier destination for immunization services, community pharmacies have often proved they can be the authority on providing vaccines while also keeping patients safe and protected against infectious disease.

“More than 90% of the vaccines we administered before the pandemic were influenza vaccines,” said Hashim Zaibak, PharmD, founder and CEO of Hayat Pharmacy in Wisconsin. “We gave over 100,000 COVID vaccines in this building [during the pandemic]. People started to recognize us; that pharmacists can vaccinate and administer other vaccines.”

In the most recent episode of Over the Counter, Zaibak joined Drug Topics to discuss his pharmacy’s journey throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and how immunization services have boosted at his pharmacies. As the CEO of Hayat, Zaibak oversees operations for 19 community pharmacy locations across southeastern Wisconsin.

He joined us to discuss immunization services at his pharmacies, what trends he’s seen over the past few years, and the ways in which other community pharmacies can get in on the action and push immunization initiatives forward.

Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes on Over the Counter every Thursday afternoon. Check out our previous episode with Michael Murphy, PharmD, MBA, who discussed the detrimental impacts pharmacy deserts have on rural and urban communities across the US.

READ MORE: Immunization Resource Center

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