Patient Perceptions on Receiving Vaccination Services through Community Pharmacies

Abstract

(1) Introduction: Pharmacists are medical professionals who play an active role in the protection of public health. Since 2021, pharmacists with an appropriate certification have been authorised to administer vaccines against COVID-19. (2) Objective: The objective of this study was to ascertain the perceptions of patients about receiving vaccinations through community pharmacies. (3) Material and methods: This study was conducted in 2021. The research tool was an anonymous questionnaire published on the websites of patient organisations. Ultimately, 1062 patients participated in this study. (4) Results: This study shows that most of the respondents find community pharmacies more accessible than outpatient clinics (85.3%). Sixty-one percent of the respondents stated that getting vaccinated at pharmacies would be less time consuming than at outpatient clinics. Nearly every third respondent (29.5%) declared that they would get vaccinated if they received such a recommendation from a pharmacist. Fifty-six percent of the respondents were of the opinion that the administration of vaccines by pharmacists would relieve the burden on medical staff and the healthcare system. (5) Conclusions: Polish patients participating in the study have a positive attitude towards the implementation of vaccination services in community pharmacies as an effective way of combating infectious diseases.

Pharmacy-Based Influenza Vaccination: A Study of Patient Acceptance in Romania

“… 16 Participants preferred vaccination in pharmacies due to their proximity to homes and the abundance of pharmacies, making vaccination more accessible. 26 Recent studies also highlight that pharmacy vaccination services complement those offered by family physicians, especially appealing to working-age individuals due to convenience and accessibility. Additionally, the active involvement of pharmacists in routine care, including regular vaccine status checks, proactive conversations, vaccination recommendations, and immunization programs in pharmacies, presents further advantages.…”

Coalition Shaping the Vaccination Landscape

“…The new coalition collected evidence and showed that vaccinations at pharmacies are safe and desired by society [21,31]. This was confirmed by a pharmacist's readiness and patient satisfaction checks [32,33]. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the development of competencies to qualify for vaccinations in the case of other HCPs in Poland.…”

Pharmacists' perceptions about providing COVID-19 vaccines in community settings

“…Previous research conducted worldwide showed that there were several factors affecting provision of the service in community settings, such as, pharmacists knowledge and skills, community pharmacy resources, patient acceptability. 16 , 17 , 18 A study conducted in Saudi Arabia indicated that pharmacists showed positive attitudes towards providing clinical services to patients. 19 However, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first qualitative study investigating community pharmacists' perceptions about providing Covid-19 vaccines in Saudi community settings.…”