Students need immunizations. You can provide them.
During back-to-school season, market immunizations for students and staff
In brief:
- All 50 states have immunization requirements for children
- Yet, many children still don’t receive the immunizations they need
- Immunizing kids during back-to-school season is an opportunity for independent pharmacies
- Pharmacies can EDUCATE families, PARTNER with physicians and IMMUNIZE patients
Recommended immunizations
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that children ages 7 to 18 receive almost a dozen immunizations.1 Some common ones are shown below.
In addition, all 50 states mandate immunization for children in preschool and K–12.3
Some states enforce their mandates by not allowing children to attend school without proof of immunization. For example, in Oregon in 2017, more than 4,000 students were told they couldn’t attend school because they didn’t meet the state’s immunization requirements.4
The opportunity for pharmacies
With more than 50 million school-age children in the United States,5 there are millions of immunizations given each year. Independent pharmacies can play a key role by:
Educating
Immunization recommendations change each year and differ by state. Pharmacists can play a key role in educating families on the immunizations their children need.
- Tip: During back-to-school season, be ready to discuss with families how to protect their children by staying up to date with recommended vaccines.
- Tools: CDC offers a portable-size childhood/adolescent immunization schedule for providers. Also, to help parents understand the need for vaccines, the CDC offers a quiz in English and Spanish. This tool creates a personalized list of recommended immunizations.
Partnering
Pharmacists can work with local physicians to partner in delivering immunizations. Although physicians may prefer to deliver some immunizations themselves, doctors may want to refer patients to a pharmacy, especially during the hectic back-to-school season. “It all hinges on the relationship with the physician,” said Dennis Song of Flower Mound Pharmacy in Texas. “You want to work with them.”
Immunizing
Pharmacists can administer many immunizations children need. However, the specifics vary by state. See state vaccine requirements here.6
Pharmacists administering immunizations is becoming more and more popular nationwide. In fact, a recent survey found:
Another study found that 29% of parents reported interest in vaccinating their adolescent children at a pharmacy.7 Parents consider pharmacists as skilled at vaccine administration as physicians, and believe pharmacies improve vaccine access.
However, with pharmacies currently missing out on more than 70% of immunization opportunities, there is still opportunity.
To increase pharmacy administration, pharmacies can market back-to-school vaccines:
- Through signage in the store
- When families pick up prescriptions
- On their website and through social media
- Via mailings, PR and other marketing efforts
