Traditionally, when people think of pharmacists, it has always been associated with drugs. And more often than not, it has always been within the circle of dispensing of drugs because many are not aware of the pivotal role that pharmacists play in even the administration and procurement of drugs at the hospital and within the pharmaceutical industry respectively. This is despite the fact that the pharmacists’ community has been actively trying to paint a different picture of themselves and advocating for change for many years now. But that’s a story for another day. 

The point is, there are more shades to the duties of a pharmacist than what is known to the public. And perhaps with the whirlwind of the COVID-19 pandemic that descended on us, there has been something good that came out of it with regards to this. 

Just in February this year, community pharmacists in our country were officially designated the roles of vaccinators along with healthcare professionals such as doctors and nurses who have long been involved in the administration of vaccines to the public. While this may seem like a small feat to others, evoking responses such as, “What’s so great about this anyway? They’re just injecting vaccines”, it has been a monumental moment for the pharmacist community nationwide. Think of it as a small stepping stone if you will. 

Having had to be confined to a stereotypical pharmacist’s role while bearing witness to their global peers in over 36 countries (according to the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) data) , particularly in countries like the United Kingdom and the United States where pharmacists have been involved in the works of administering vaccines and the likes for over 20 years must have been exhausting. 

Knowing that pharmacists could finally do so much more than just be a medium for supplying vaccines and emphasizing the need to get them to the public in the midst of a life-threatening pandemic simply cements their competence as a healthcare professional.

Moreover, while this call may have been later than expected in our nation’s healthcare system, pharmacists as immunizers now means that a larger population of the country can get immunized against COVID-19 and future instances if need be. Hence, speeding up the National Immunization Programme in building herd immunity within the country and relieving  some of the burden that was borne by the doctors and nurses alone. 

Among many other advocacy groups, we have the  Malaysian Community Pharmacy Guild (MCPG) and the Malaysian Pharmacists Society to thank for suggesting this to the Ministry of Health (MoH). Thus, in addition to being knowledgeable about the cold chain management of the vaccine and the management of any adverse events following the vaccination, pharmacists are now also given training on the theoretical and practical aspects of vaccine administration, its reconstitution/dilution, storage, counselling and how to provide basic life support if things go awry post-vaccination. 

Slowly but surely, more and more pharmacists are being trained to become certified vaccinators such that peers from the government and private sector are also keen to join onboard. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) has also established a course  in collaboration with the Malaysian Pharmacist Society (MPS) called  “Certified Training Programme on Immunisation for Pharmacists (CTPIP)”. This course is certainly pedagogic on all matters pertaining to vaccines and its administration. 

To sum it up, one down, many more to go. Hopefully, the many other changes that are being advocated for the pharmacists’ community will see the light of the day and further provide recognition for pharmacists as being an essential cog in the wheels of our healthcare system as well. 

References 

1. learning4life.usm.my. 2022. Certified Training on Immunisation for Pharmacist | Learning for Life. [online] Available at: <https://learning4life.usm.my/qualifications/ctpip/> [Accessed 25 June 2022].
2. Mps.org.my. 2022. Malaysian Pharmacists Society – Immunisation Advocacy Chapter. [online] Available at: <https://www.mps.org.my/index.cfm?&menuid=218> [Accessed 25 June 2022].
3. Commonwealth Pharmacists Association. 2022. Blog: History-Making As Malaysian Pharmacists Can Now Administer Covid-19 Vaccination  – Commonwealth Pharmacists Association. [online] Available at: <https://commonwealthpharmacy.org/world-immunization-week-2022/> [Accessed 25 June 2022].

The opinions expressed in the article are the writers’ own and do not reflect the view of MPS YPC.