Improving Vaccination Coverage Through Community Pharmacy Service Delivery in Nigeria: The COVID-19 Experience and Implications for Policy Review.

Background: Globally, the use of community pharmacies and pharmacists in the delivery of vaccination services has been hampered by several factors, laws, and regulations that do not support pharmacists to participate in the delivery of vaccination services. With the advent of COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have included community pharmacists and pharmacies in vaccination services to improve coverage. This study described the delivery of vaccination services in community pharmacies using the COVID-19 experience and how their involvement impacted vaccination coverage in Nigeria. It also exposed how this experience can be used to support policy revisions to formally recognize pharmacists in immunization delivery.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 474 community pharmacists in two southwestern States in Nigeria, using a semi-structured questionnaire. It determines the number of community pharmacists who have been trained in the delivery of vaccination services, the types of vaccination services provided, and vaccines administered in their pharmacies. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics and -value at ≤ 0.05.

Results: Response rate was 86.7%. Less than half of the respondents (40.1%) had undergone vaccination training. Of the 129 (31.4%) respondents that provide vaccination services, 72 (55.8%) administer vaccines in their pharmacies. Out of these 72 respondents; 45 (62.5%) were administering vaccines before their involvement in COVID-19 vaccine administration; 57 (79.2%) of the health personnel who administer vaccines were pharmacists; 60 (83.3%) of them administer vaccines on request; 22 (30.6%) administered COVID-19 vaccines only; and only 7 (9.7%) of the respondents had administered over 500 doses of COVID-19 vaccines. Training in vaccination was associated with the vaccination services provided ( < 0.05). Respondents suggested government support through legal framework and policy review, training and empowering pharmacists in vaccine administration, and recognition of community pharmacists as PHC providers.

Conclusion: Training of community pharmacists in vaccination services had increased the number of respondents' involvement in the delivery of the services while the delivery of COVID-19 vaccination by community pharmacists had increased the number of clients vaccinated, hence improved coverage in Nigeria. Also, policy review and inclusion of community pharmacists and pharmacies in the national database will improve vaccination coverage and immunization service delivery in Nigeria.