Pandemic response in Alaska: Preparing pharmacists to lead vaccination efforts

Abstract

Background: Despite the established efficacy of vaccines, many Alaskans choose not to be vaccinated, citing safety and efficacy concerns. Vaccine hesitancy, consistently ranked among the top 10, is one of most addressable global health threats. The main objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the steps taken by our team to help identify and address vaccine hesitancy by identifying unmet training needs and engaging pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and technicians in the development of tailored vaccine hesitancy education to improve vaccine confidence and vaccination rates among all Alaskans.

Methods: To determine the unmet training needs that contributed to vaccine hesitancy, an assessment survey was developed and administered to pharmacists across the state.

Results: An expert panel, composed of pharmacists across the state, was convened to review survey results and to establish a scalable health care provider training program. Adult-learning strategies and real-world examples were used to address pharmacist identified factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy and provide more tailored training to pharmacists and technicians in Alaska to help address factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy in patients that may be extending the pandemic.

Conclusion: Pharmacy professionals are well positioned to respond to emerging threats, but more training and practice opportunities are required to get comfortable addressing vaccine hesitancy with established communication strategies.