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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Government weighs roping in pharmacists to administer covid-19 vaccine
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Government weighs roping in pharmacists to administer covid-19 vaccine

Pharmacy experts said given the shortage of doctors, nurses and other trained personnel, the government is intending to prepare a second line of ‘vaccination warriors’
  • The involvement of pharmacists will depend on the number of doses India gets if and when a vaccine is available
  • India may get enough doses but the country would need additional manpower for a roll-out, say officials. (AP)Premium
    India may get enough doses but the country would need additional manpower for a roll-out, say officials. (AP)

    Fears of a second wave of covid-19 infections after the festive season hitting an unprepared nation have prompted authorities to draw up plans to train allied healthcare workers, including pharmacists, in the roll-out of vaccines. Pharmacists so far haven’t received any confirmation from the government but the sector is expected to need massive training for the job.

    The government anticipates a second wave of covid-19 in the post-festival season and the upcoming winters. According to government officials, pharmacists may be looped in for the second round of vaccinations after they are administered to priority groups such as health care workers, the elderly and pregnant women.

    The involvement of pharmacists will depend on the number of doses India gets if and when a vaccine is available.

    Officials who asked not to be named said India may get enough doses but the country would need additional manpower for a roll-out. They said training will be a key part of the plans.

    “We are ready to come forward if the training is given to our pharmacists for covid-19 vaccine—rather we will serve in a better way because we know very well how to maintain cold chain and to keep the vaccine intact," said Rajiv Singhal, general secretary of All India Organization of Chemists and Druggists.

    Pharmacy experts said given the shortage of doctors, nurses and other trained personnel, the government is intending to prepare a second line of ‘vaccination warriors’.

    “While the first round of vaccination for healthcare and essential services workers with an estimated strength of 30 million is likely to start around January, the second round would require a much larger number of trained vaccinators. The 8 lakh-strong pharmacists could play an important role in this. They would need to be trained while the related laws and regulations also need to be changed permitting pharmacists to safely administer the vaccine," said Gurpreet Sandhu, president, Council for Healthcare and Pharma and founder, Reva Pharma.

    Public health experts said roping in pharmacists to administer vaccines can help improve coverage. However, they need to be trained adequately and must undergo mandatory internship in a hospital injection room or ward.

    “Training must include administering all types of injections—intramuscular, intravenous, subcutaneous, intradermal—so that the trained resources can be used for all types of vaccination programmes. They must also be trained for management of all untoward and adverse reactions to an injection," said Raghavendra Prasad T S, founder, StepOne, a telemedicine service helping covid-19 patients with various state governments including Delhi.

    “In addition to training pharmacists, midwives and auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) who have a far greater reach in the interiors and rural areas, must be trained in vaccination as well. In fact, they should be the first group to be trained in vaccination when India plans to expand covid-19 vaccination programme to the people in rural areas," he said.

    In future, these trained resources will play an important role in relieving the responsibilities of doctors to a certain extent without compromising the health outcomes in people, and help India address the current, dismal doctor-patient ratio, he added.

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    Published: 28 Oct 2020, 05:42 AM IST
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