Daily versus single-day offering of influenza vaccine in community pharmacies.

OBJECTIVE

To assess the cumulative number of influenza vaccinations delivered per pharmacy in relation to number of days of offering vaccination per season.

METHODS

Automated records of pharmacies involved in a cohort study were queried for number of influenza vaccinations delivered in each of three influenza vaccination seasons between 1996 and 1998. Eleven pharmacies in Washington State were compared with 13 pharmacies in Oregon, contrasting years when nurses offered influenza vaccine 1 day per season with years when pharmacists offered influenza vaccine daily for several months.

RESULTS

Pharmacies in which pharmacists offered influenza vaccination daily averaged 528 to 807 doses per pharmacy per season compared with 91 to 233 doses per pharmacy in seasons when nurses offered vaccination on a single day.

CONCLUSION

Professionals dedicated to providing adult vaccination on any given day outperformed professionals who attended to both vaccination and other clinical duties, but the cumulative effect of offering vaccinations on multiple days can achieve a greater number of vaccinations over a several-month interval.