COVID-19 vaccinations may be in short supply, but when shipments arrive, Canada will need all the help it can get to administer millions of vaccines across the country.
In Ontario, there are currently seventeen hospital sites giving COVID-19 vaccines. As the province moves into Phase Two of the vaccine rollout plan, more locations will become available and the list of health-care professionals who can give the vaccine will also increase.
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are on this list of Phase Two vaccinators. Ontario pharmacists have been able to administer vaccines, such as the influenza vaccine, for years, and pharmacy students receive training on administering injections in school. But injection training has not typically been a component of Ontario pharmacy technician training.
Enter Professor Sherilyn Houle. Houle is a pharmacist and researcher who worked with the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA) to develop vaccine education resources. When the Ontario government announced that technicians would soon be able to give the COVID-19 vaccine, the OPA recognized a need to create technician injection and immunization training. They asked Professor Houle to help them do just that.
“Since I currently coordinate the injections training program at Waterloo Pharmacy and am a strong supporter of an expanded role for pharmacy technicians, I jumped at the opportunity to contribute to this expansion in technicians’ scope of practice,” Houle says.
Houle worked with the OPA to modify existing injection and immunization training for pharmacists to suit pharmacy technicians. The new certification for technicians includes an online component and an in-person practical assessment of injection technique. It’s now available to the over 5,000 pharmacy technicians registered to work in Ontario.
Robin Andrade, an instructor at Waterloo Pharmacy, is also a pharmacy technician. She is working her way through the course.
“I was thrilled with the news that technicians would be able to inject the COVID-19 vaccination. By increasing the number of trained professionals who can inject, we’ll come closer to herd immunity and keep the number of cases low and manageable,” says Andrade. “The course was well executed, and I am looking forward to the in-person workshop to practice my injection technique.”
Robin Andrade at home completing the injections online course component on her laptop
For Houle, adapting the course was an impactful way to increase Ontario’s capacity to give vaccinations.
“We are embarking on the largest mass vaccination campaign in our history, and the pharmacy profession can play a large role in that,” Houle says. “I saw this project as an opportunity to support that enthusiasm and contribute to efforts to vaccinate Canadians against COVID-19, and I am thrilled to welcome pharmacy technicians to the team of healthcare professionals who are able to administer vaccinations.”
March is Pharmacy Appreciation Month. This month, in our #PAM2021 series, the School of Pharmacy is highlighting the unique ways that the pharmacy community has supported Canadians through the pandemic.