Anmolpreet Kaur, Xinge Zheng, Lai Saechao, and Rudy Nunez are third-year PharmD candidates at the California Northstate University (CNU) College of Pharmacy, and Jennifer Courtney, PharmD, is the director of experiential education at CNU.
As COVID-19 progressively declines, the monkeypox outbreak has slowly escalated. According to recent updates from CDC, more than 25,000 monkeypox cases have occurred in the United States alone.1 As cases continue to rise, the APhA–ASP/California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) Chapter at California Northstate University (CNU) have been working closely with Pucci’s Pharmacy in Sacramento, CA, to help combat the monkeypox outbreak.
In August, CNU student pharmacists, along with their APhA–ASP Chapter advisors, first collaborated with Clint Hopkins, PharmD, from Pucci’s Pharmacy to administer more than 500 JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccines to the LGBTQIA+ community and other high-risk individuals in Sacramento. Pucci’s Pharmacy was the first in California (and one of the first in the nation) to administer the JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine. As of this article’s publication, Pucci’s Pharmacy has given more than 5,300 vaccines to Californians at high risk of exposure to the virus. Our student pharmacists embraced diversity and inclusion as they stood in the forefront of expanded pharmacist patient care, and the APhA–ASP/CPhA Chapter was one of the first student pharmacist organizations in the nation to help individuals prevent monkeypox. We also administered vaccines in September and late October.
Trained to serve our community
The JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine is a live vaccine used to prevent smallpox and monkeypox. The vaccine was originally given as a 0.5 mL subcutaneous injection, and it is a 2-dose series given 4 weeks apart.2 However, due to supply issues of the vaccine and the increase in the spread of the virus, on August 9, 2022, FDA issued an EUA for the vaccine so that it can be given as a 0.1 mL intradermal injection as an alternative to the subcutaneous injection.3
Intradermal injection is not something we are taught in our initial immunization training. At CNU, our professors saw this need and initiated the training in order to prepare students for this new injection technique. The faculty prepared us by holding practice sessions in which participating student pharmacists got a chance to practice intradermal injections and review education and counseling points for patients receiving the vaccine.
Our chapter recognized the increased needs of our community and immediately expanded the education to more of our student pharmacists. Our chapter invited two of our final-year PharmD candidates, Celeste Amie Nguyen and Richard Cho, to hold a monkeypox educational session. They discussed the background of the virus, signs and symptoms, prevention, risk factors, vaccines available for prevention, guidelines, eligibility for the vaccine, and medication treatment of monkeypox. We felt the educational session was essential to prepare our student pharmacists and faculty in providing these vaccines to the community.
A step closer to advancing our role
Overall, the increasing demand for patient care allows student pharmacists in the CNU APhA–ASP/CPhA Chapter to be more involved in community outreach. Our actions are much appreciated and highly praised by our community. These new skills help us come one step closer to advancing our roles as pharmacists. Our student pharmacists and faculty pharmacists demonstrated again that pharmacists are essential health care providers. We continue to promote public health, reduce health care disparities, and guard our community from yet another virus. We will continue working toward expanding our patient care projects as well as advocating for the advancement of the practice of pharmacy.
We would like to thank Dr. Hopkins and Pucci’s Pharmacy for including us in this endeavor. It is an honor to collaborate with them and serve our community.
References
- CDC. Monkeypox 2022 outbreak cases and data. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/index.html
- FDA. JYNNEOS prescribing information. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Food & Drug Administration. Available at: www.fda.gov/media/131078/download
- California Department of Public Health. Interim guidance: Intradermal administration of JYNNEOS smallpox and monkeypox vaccine recommended to extend scarce supplies. Sacramento, CA: California Department of Health. Available at: www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Intradermal-administration-of-JYNNEOS-smallpox-and-monkeypox-vaccine-recommended-to-extend-scarce-supplies.aspx