Assessing the impact of a pharmacy-provided personalized vaccination recommendation on immunization rates of adolescents.

BACKGROUND

Adolescents should receive timely doses of recommended vaccinations. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination approval for adolescents presented an opportunity for community pharmacists to address gaps in adolescent immunization schedules.

OBJECTIVES

The objectives of this research were to (1) identify adolescent immunization gaps, (2) identify number of patients receiving recommended vaccination(s) at the community pharmacy, and (3) determine how many vaccinations were administered after the intervention.

METHODS

Three pharmacies conducted the prospective intervention. Adolescents aged 11-17 years initiating the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination series were eligible to receive a personalized vaccination recommendation (PVR), which included up to 3 other vaccinations. State immunization information systems were assessed after dose 1 of the COVID-19 vaccine to create the recommendation(s) and reassessed 6 months after providing the PVR for accepted recommendations. Patient demographics and number of vaccinations administered were assessed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

Of the 225 adolescents who received COVID-19 vaccine dose 1, 74.7%, 75.1%, and 83.1% were indicated to receive tetanus, diphtheria, and acellular pertussis (Tdap), meningococcal conjugate (MenACWY), or human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, respectively. Thirty-three (14.7%) adolescents were up to date on all 3 vaccinations assessed. Of the 225 adolescents, 180 returned to the same location for COVID-19 vaccine dose 2 and received a PVR. Forty-two caregivers reported that their adolescent previously received 1 or more of the recommended vaccinations, indicating that state immunization information systems were inaccurate. Six months after the PVRs were given, 24 vaccinations had been administered.

CONCLUSIONS

Most adolescents presenting for a COVID-19 vaccine were indicated, according to state immunization information systems, to receive at least 1 additional vaccination. After pharmacist-provided PVR and education, vaccine uptake occurred. Considering caregiver-reported inaccuracies, pharmacists should be cognizant of potential discrepancies when providing PVRs. In addition, this study highlights the value of a state immunization information system.