Haley McKeefer is a second-year PharmD candidate at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth UNT System College of Pharmacy.
One of my favorite things to do as a student pharmacist and pharmacist intern is administering vaccines. Since 1997, APhA’s Operation Immunization has ensured that student pharmacists are trained to increase vaccines’ immensely positive impact on our society’s public health and our patients’ wellness. In the 2020–21 academic year alone, student pharmacists immunized more than 1.2 million patients. Vaccines are a brilliant source of technology, and it is an immense privilege that student pharmacists can be the conduit of that powerful technology to the general public.
That privilege was never lost on me and my classmates when we joined the movement to immunize our community against COVID-19 over the last year. When we weren’t logged into virtual lectures, we were out working at vaccination clinics. Patients came to these clinics in all sorts of moods—scared, overjoyed, nervous, and skeptical. I was thrilled to practice my ability to connect, empathize, and put the patients who sat before me at ease. It was exciting to see the impact I could have as a first-year student pharmacist!
In the few months immediately following the release of the COVID-19 vaccines in late 2020, it was easy to provide patient counseling on the Pfizer and Moderna doses. But then the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine came out. Then the booster shot recommendations. And then the monoclonal antibodies. And then emergency use authorization recalls. And then maybe another booster? Our society began to question the scientific process of how to best handle the pandemic. Frankly, some of my self-confidence in counseling patients began to wither away.
But then APhA and CDC recognized the new struggles pharmacists and student pharmacists were experiencing with the ever-changing products and information, and they came to our aid.
Grateful for this resource
The growing complexity of preventative and treatment options for COVID-19 made it even more difficult for the profession to help patients be vaccine confident. Now, in 2022, it is even more important that immunization efforts continue.
Pharmacists and student pharmacists are respectfully trying to understand why some of our patients remain unvaccinated. These efforts are why I am grateful for the APhA Vaccine Confident Playbook, which provides student pharmacists a user-friendly, action-oriented resource to have productive conversations with patients about COVID-19 vaccines. It offers guidance on improving patient confidence and increasing vaccine uptake by patients concerned at any step in their vaccine journey.
Addressing patients’ concerns
A patient may present with multiple concerns about COVID-19 vaccines. It is important to recognize the privilege we have in our knowledge as student pharmacists and that no patient concern, no matter how trivial or silly it may seem, is to be disregarded. The Playbook offers potential concerns you might encounter, such as apprehension about infertility or adverse effects that are often noted with other vaccines like headache, injection site soreness, or nausea.
I enjoy that this section of the Playbook equips me with “soundbites” to quickly share with a concerned patient. Practicing these helps me feel more natural and confident when a patient is frustrated.
Understanding when distrust begins
Distrust can start from numerous sources, and as motivational interviewers, student pharmacists must recognize how to differentiate what type of distrust we are experiencing within an interview. About 18% of Americans are comprised of COVID-19 skeptics and system distrusters.1 These patients, who might believe in conspiracy theories or fear a repeat of the infamous Tuskegee Study, must not be undermined or ridiculed when they present to you.
The Playbook offers historical and psychosocial context for why patients may be skeptical or distrusting. It encourages patience, genuine curiosity, and respect for your patients to build trust in your clinical relationship, and it also collects racial and ethnic data from the vaccine trials so that patients of underrepresented demographics can see the vaccine’s efficacy on individuals of their ethnicity.
Discussing new COVID-19 variants
Sadly, breakthrough infections and mutating variants are a reality in our fight against COVID-19. Treatments and vaccine schedules for COVID-19 are evolving as quickly as the virus, so the Playbook helps me track how to address these types of concerns with patients. With guidance from WHO, this Playbook section allows readers to relay information on present and emerging variants.
Keeping up with our studies and current world events can be overwhelming, but the Playbook gives me up-to-date information and confidence when communicating with patients.
Student pharmacists have shown up time and time again in the fight for our public’s health. Let APhA’s Vaccine Confidence initiative be there for you.
Reference
- Sgaier SK. Meet the four kinds of people holding us back from full vaccination. The New York Times. www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/05/18/opinion/covid-19-vaccine-hesitancy.html