The National Association of Chain Drug Stores says vaccination capacity will drop by 40% if the Biden administration doesn’t continue to let pharmacies administer vaccinations and treatments for COVID-19 and influenza after the public health emergency ends. Both diseases, as well as respiratory illness, are expected to spread rampantly this winter.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday (Oct. 25) said enabling pharmacies to administer vaccines and treatments and provide testing makes it easy for most people get those services because 90% of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy.
But NACDS says there’s no stable pathway to ensure pharmacies can continue to get shots into arms come the winter season.
In an Oct. 27 letter to the president, NACDS President and CEO Steven Anderson urges HHS to issue an amendment to the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act that extends permission for pharmacies to administer vaccines and treatments, such as Paxlovid, until Oct. 1, 2024.
“The purpose of the PREP Act during the pandemic is to harmonize policies across the country, rather than relying on a patchwork of state policies. States are modernizing their laws to ensure pharmacy teams can perform needed services, though that has not yet occurred to a degree that is sufficient to maintain preparedness amid ongoing public health risks,” Anderson says in the letter.
When the public health emergency ends and coverage of vaccines and treatments shifts to commercial insurers, PREP Act flexibilities for pharmacies will be curbed unless an extension is issued, the letter states. The letter asks that HHS set a deadline for the commercialization of vaccines and treatments and say whether another 90-day extension will be granted for the public health emergency.
NACDS also wants Congress to pass the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act, which would direct Medicare to pay pharmacies for more services, including providing coronavirus vaccinations and treatments.
“It is the lack of such a pathway that serves as a major barrier to empowering pharmacists to help improve equity and access to COVID-19 treatments including Paxlovid. This is a reason why these medications cannot reliably make their way to those who need them most,” Anderson said.
The letter highlights that pharmacies have sustained services for the uninsured since COVID-19 funding for the uninsured ended in March and have done so without being paid for those services. – Gabrielle Wanneh (gwanneh@iwpnews.com)
