Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Harrison College of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA; Social & Administrative Sciences Division, School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Department of Health Outcomes Research and Policy, Harrison College of Pharmacy, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
Vaccine. 2023 Apr 6;41(15):2503-2513. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.03.002. Epub 2023 Mar 7.
Immunization rates for seasonal and non-seasonal vaccines dropped during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the extent to which community pharmacies in the USA continued to serve as immunization sites during the pandemic. This study compared 1) the types and perceived changes in non-COVID-19 vaccine doses administered at rural community pharmacies in 2020 (during the pandemic) to 2019 (pre-pandemic) and 2) the delivery of non-COVID-19 immunization services in 2020 to 2019.
A mixed-mode (paper/electronic) survey of a convenience sample of 385 community pharmacies operating in rural settings and have administered ≥1 vaccine in 2019 and 2020 was distributed in May-August 2021. Survey development was informed by relevant literature, pre-tested with three individuals, and pilot-tested with 20 pharmacists. Non-response bias was assessed, and survey responses were analyzed using descriptive and bivariate statistics.
Of the 385 community pharmacies, 86 qualified pharmacies completed the survey (Response Rate = 23.8%). The percentage of pharmacies offering a given vaccine in 2019 and 2020 were similar; with one exception, a higher percentage of pharmacies reported having MMR administered for adults in the pharmacy in 2020 (McNemar's test; p-value = 0.0253). For each given vaccine, the majority of respondents did not perceive a change in the number of doses administered in 2020 compared to 2019. Further, the majority reported no difference in how they delivered immunization services during and pre-pandemic. However, a small percentage of respondents (6.0-22.0%) adapted their services by adopting several measures to ensure the safety and continuity of immunizations during the pandemic.
Findings highlight the importance of community pharmacies as immunization sites during the pandemic. Community pharmacies continued immunization delivery at community pharmacies during the pandemic with almost no noticeable change to types and doses of vaccines compared to pre-pandemic nor the process of vaccine delivery.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，季节性和非季节性疫苗的免疫接种率有所下降。在美国，社区药房在大流行期间继续作为免疫接种点的程度知之甚少。本研究比较了 1）2020 年（大流行期间）与 2019 年（大流行前）农村社区药房接种的非 COVID-19 疫苗剂量的类型和感知变化，以及 2）2020 年与 2019 年非 COVID-19 免疫服务的提供情况。
2021 年 5 月至 8 月，对在农村地区运营且 2019 年和 2020 年至少接种过 1 种疫苗的 385 家社区药房进行了混合模式（纸质/电子）调查。调查的制定参考了相关文献，与 3 人进行了预测试，并与 20 名药剂师进行了试点测试。评估了非响应偏差，并使用描述性和双变量统计分析对调查结果进行了分析。
在 385 家社区药房中，有 86 家合格的药房完成了调查（响应率为 23.8%）。2019 年和 2020 年提供某种疫苗的药房百分比相似；有一个例外，2020 年报告在药房为成人接种 MMR 的药房比例更高（McNemar 检验；p 值=0.0253）。对于每种疫苗，大多数受访者认为 2020 年与 2019 年相比，接种的疫苗数量没有变化。此外，大多数受访者表示，在大流行期间和大流行前，他们提供免疫服务的方式没有差异。然而，一小部分受访者（6.0-22.0%）采取了几种措施来确保免疫接种的安全性和连续性，从而调整了他们的服务。
研究结果强调了社区药房在大流行期间作为免疫接种点的重要性。社区药房在大流行期间继续在社区药房提供免疫接种服务，与大流行前相比，疫苗类型和剂量几乎没有变化，疫苗接种过程也没有变化。
