The report, “Pharmaceutical services in immunization: Contributions, experiences, and implementation in the Americas region”, has been produced by the Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas* and is available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

“The two main barriers to good vaccination coverage in Latin America have been identified as lack of accessibility-related to infrastructure and availability of vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. We know, however, that the pharmacy profession has the potential to help overcome these barriers,” said Dr Eduardo Savio, president, Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas.

The new publication cites cases of successful participation of pharmacists in immunisation in the Americas, with examples from 10 Latin American countries as well as Canada and the USA, following a research exercise and literature review. It also contains a chapter describing the roles of pharmacists in the “immunisation chain”, from vaccines development to administration. “The pharmacist has a role to play across the entire chain,” Dr Savio said.

The Regional Pharmaceutical Forums, established with the support of the World Health Organization and FIP at least 15 years ago, are in the process of becoming more integrated with FIP. “This is the first time that FIP has published a Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas report and it is a demonstration of the outcomes of our closer working,” said FIP president Mr Dominique Jordan.

He added: “For many years, the forum has played a leading role in the development of pharmacy in the Americas. With this publication, it takes a new step forward to encourage pharmacists in the region to accept and claim a greater role in promoting vaccination. FIP is pleased to continue to work with the forum towards this goal.”

Notes for editors
*Edited by Dr Nuria Montero, director of pharmacy practice of the Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas, and authored by experts from the National Medicines Information Centre of the University of Costa Rica.

About FIP
The International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) is the global federation of national associations of pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and pharmacy educators, and is in official relations with the World Health Organization. Through its 147 member organisations, it represents over four million practitioners and scientists around the world. www.fip.org
About the Pharmaceutical Forum of the Americas (PFA)

The PFA was established in 2000. It is a platform for pharmacy professional cooperation across the Americas region with the aim of enabling greater impact on improving health and the efficiency of healthcare systems through pharmacy services.

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