Español Community pharmacist vaccination in Spain: an opportunity to improve vaccination coverage based on European evidence

e202610073

Abstract

Vaccination is the most effective means of reducing both the health impact and public expenditure associated with a wide range of infectious diseases. An increasing number of European Union countries, after introducing the necessary legislative and organizational changes, have opted to facilitate population immunization by incorporating community pharmacists into vaccination activities. Spain has neither adopted this measure nor plans to do so. Accordingly, in the present study we have examined possible objective reasons underlying this healthcare policy decision, including: (i) whether pharmacy graduates in Spain are less qualified than their counterparts in other European countries; (ii) whether the network of community pharmacies fails to provide added value to the facilities of the national health system; (iii) whether vaccination coverage is already satisfactory. However, after reviewing the available evidence, we found no support for any of these potential explanations. It is therefore difficult to understand why, in the absence of objective scientific or technical criteria advising against it, Spain has not even considered the possibility of allowing community pharmacists to collaborate with other healthcare professionals in vaccination programs. Consequently, drawing on European experience and adapting it to the characteristics of the national healthcare and pharmaceutical system, the current situation should be reconsidered.