THE PHARMACY CONTRACTOR MUST ENSURE ALL INDIVIDUALS VACCINATING COMPLETE THE COVID-19 VACCINATOR COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT TOOL
should be reserved for these patients ten weeks from the first vaccination. Pharmacies are also asked to hold a reserve list of patients to manage any patients who do not attend; this is vital to ensure vaccine waste is kept to an absolute minimum.’
What is not mentioned in the HSCB correspondence is the particular cohort that pharmacists will be asked to vaccinate, which may indicate that the service will be open to all those below 60 years of age. This is likely to prove popular with NI’s community pharmacists, as many have already declared a desire to vaccinate across all age groups as opposed to simply dealing with specific cohorts.
With regard to the necessary training, an ECHO session is to be held on Monday 22 March 2021 to provide training on the service and to demonstrate how to utilise the VMS. Pharmacies must have access to secure HSC email and the secure BSO Pharmacy portal (pharmacy landing page) to be able to access the VMS.
The pharmacy contractor must ensure all individuals vaccinating complete the COVID-19 vaccinator competency assessment tool. Any training needs identified by the COVID-19 vaccinator competency assessment tool should be addressed, and copies of the assessments should be held in the pharmacy.
‘The pharmacy contractor,’ HSCB’s letter continued, ‘must ensure all vaccinators have completed Basic Life Support (BLS) and anaphylaxis training within the last year. This can be undertaken either on-line or face to face. The pharmacy contractor must oversee and keep a record to confirm that all staff have undertaken the training prior to participating in administration of the vaccination.’
With regard to vaccine supplies, contracted pharmacies must be registered with Movianto and be able to place orders for the COVID-19 AZ vaccine in time for the proposed start date. Those pharmacies that expressed an interest but don’t currently have a Movianto account will receive an
email with details on how to register an account in due course. COVID-19 AZ vaccines ordered from Movianto may take up to five working days to be delivered from the point of ordering.
The introduction of the community pharmacy programme is likely to ramp up the numbers of those who have been vaccinated. The first coronavirus vaccine was administered in Northern Ireland on December 8 last year. At the time of going to print, the COVID-19 vaccination programme had reached more than 500, 000 doses given to eligible people in Northern Ireland.
At present, Northern Ireland is in phase two of the vaccination programme, vaccinating priority groups three to six. Phase three is now beginning – on track - and it is anticipated that from the summer, phase four will begin, vaccinating the rest of the population, aged 18 plus, who have not already called to receive their jab.
The vaccination programme will continue to be expanded as vaccine supplies increase and there will be a further major boost to the programme in April, when the SSE Arena in Belfast will be opened as a mass vaccination centre for Northern Ireland’s adult population aged 60 and under, who have not yet received a vaccine via a Trust or their GP. It is anticipated that around 40,000 vaccinations a week will be carried out at the SSE Arena.
WHAT IS NOT MENTIONED IN THE HSCB CORRESPONDENCE IS THE PARTICULAR COHORT THAT PHARMACISTS WILL BE ASKED TO VACCINATE, WHICH MAY INDICATE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE OPEN TO ALL THOSE BELOW 60 YEARS OF AGE
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