The Common Trends in Hepatitis Vaccine Uptake, Hesitancy
During Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month, Jeff Goad, PharmD, MPH, joined Over the Counter to discuss hepatitis vaccines and the common trends pharmacists in this space should keep in mind.
When it comes to the current trends regarding hepatitis A and B vaccines, coverage is much more notable among children than it is compared with adults. However, both populations would significantly benefit from increases in hepatitis vaccine uptake, encouraging pharmacists to consider alternate methods of facilitating this increase in immunizations.
“There's just a general mistrust in vaccines. Again, that misinformation versus disinformation is important,” said Jeff Goad, PharmD, MPH, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. “Thinking about, how do we normalize some of this? Well, you have to talk to your patients. So, that's offering vaccines, for example, at every pharmacy visit, reducing some of those access barriers, since we know that most of the population walks through the doors of a pharmacy every week.”
Goad joined us on this week’s episode of Over the Counter to discuss general topics surrounding hepatitis. Getting the chance to meet with him during Viral Hepatitis Awareness Month, Goad provided some key insights into the basic understanding of hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, as well as what vaccines are available to protect against these diseases.
He then explored common myths that are surrounding these FDA-approved vaccines and provided some easy ways for pharmacists to maneuver these myths and combat patients’ vaccine hesitancy. Listen here to the full conversation, or check it out on Spotify and any other podcast-streaming channel.
Stay tuned for weekly podcast episodes on Over the Counter every Thursday afternoon. Check out our previous episode with Vin Gupta, MD, former chief medical officer at Amazon Pharmacy and NBC News medical analyst. At the National Council for Prescription Drug Programs 2025 Annual Conference, Gupta joined Over the Counter to discuss his ideas on what the future of pharmacy may bring.
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