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I worry that when we leave community pharmacists, primary care providers, and public health nurses out of the COVID vaccine planning conversations it's because decision makers only see technical workers on the front lines, not skilled experts. 1/
Primary care, community pharmacy and public health run complex programs every year. Pharmacies are great at boosting vaccine rates. Family docs are great at vaccinating a thousand in a day. Public health is great at taking the vaccine right to the high risk population. 2/
Yet, the novelty and fragility of the mRNA vaccines have pushed early programs into the already overwhelmed hospitals not set up for mass vaccine programs. But this underestimates the knowledge and skill of front line experts who handle complex drug products all the time. 3/
Meanwhile, pharmacists and doctors are fielding phone calls from frustrated patients who go to the experts they know. Those same pharmacists and doctors try to find answers through social media and newspapers because no one is keeping them in the loop. 4/
Patients trust their doctors and pharmacists. It's more than convenience. And "convenient" options like free parking, open 24/7, holidays hours, and close proximity to transit/home are actually about accessibility--especially for high risk low income populations and seniors. 5/
As we head into 2021, we need to rethink what we mean by universal health care and public health in this country. We need to look past hospitals to our entire healthcare system, and ALL the experts, to end this pandemic as quickly as possible. 6/
