PIN81 - PHARMACISTS AS VACCINATORS: FIRST YEAR EXPERIMENTATION ON SEASONAL INFLUENZA VACCINATION IN FRANCE

Abstract

For the first time, during the winter of 2017-18, French pharmacists participated in the seasonal influenza vaccination campaign. This is part of an experimentation on “pharmacists as vaccinators” established by the Health Ministry notably aiming at improving vaccination coverage by simplifying the vaccination circuit. This study assessed the criteria motivating pharmacists to complying with the experimentation. Pharmacists working in community pharmacies in the Nouvelle Aquitaine (NA) Region, selected for the experimentation, were identified in the database of the Regional Health Agency (ARS). We developed an online questionnaire consisting of: (1) the characteristics of the pharmacists and their practice, (2) seasonal influenza vaccination activities, (3) perceptions of financial and non-financial incentives to complying with the experimentation. All pharmacists of the NA Region, authorized or not to vaccinate against seasonal influenza, were allowed to participate. 1418 pharmacists replied to our questionnaire (response rate of 28,2%, n=5002 pharmacists invited); the majority were vaccinated against seasonal influenza (78.3%). Few respondents were unlicensed to vaccinate (n=219, 15.4%), which is not representative of the whole unlicensed pharmacists of the NA Region (n=2977). Almost all respondents declared being requested by non-eligible people to be vaccinated beyond the Heath Ministry’s requirements for the experimentation: often primary influenza vaccination (64.1%) and healthy adults (52.6%). More than half of the respondents rejected the financial incentives as a criterion to participate in the experimentation, but emphasized their commitment to public health and the possibility of diversifying their pharmaceutical activities. This study provides evidence on the large compliance of pharmacists and their perceptions regarding the first year of the experimentation on influenza vaccination at community pharmacies in the NA Region. Enlarging the pharmacists’ audience eligible for vaccination may be an opportunity to immunize people notably those willing to pay for the vaccine.