This Thursday, the Ordem dos Enfermeiros challenged the government’s decision to allow pharmacists to administer Covid-19 vaccinations, arguing that pharmacies can administer vaccines if they employ nurses for the purpose.
According to a decree published on August 17 in the newspaper Diário da República, pharmacists in public pharmacies will be able to administer the Covid-19 vaccines at the same time as the flu vaccination during the autumn-winter 2023-2024 seasonal vaccination campaign.
In a statement, the Order of Nurses (OE) says it does not agree with the measure, stating that “the administration of vaccines is not within the competence of these medical professionals.”
“These vaccines may be administered in pharmacies if they employ nurses for this purpose, as provided for in the ordinance governing the services provided in public pharmacies, and amended in 2018, to allow certain nursing services to be provided in these pharmacies,” says OE.
He also recalls that this change led to the signing of a protocol between the Order of Nurses and the National Pharmacy Association to hire nurses to provide this care.
The administration of vaccines and injectables by community pharmacy pharmacists has been enshrined in law since 2007, but remains contested by the Order of Nurses.
“The Order of Nursing defends the safety of care provided to people in the logic of respect for the professional skills of each professional class. By comparison, it would never occur to the Order of Nursing to conduct ‘special’ training for nurses to sell medicine,” a communiqué said on Thursday.
The decree, signed by Minister of Health Manuel Pizarro, said that influenza vaccinations in public pharmacies were carried out “more quickly”, which allowed “to ensure the protection of the population in a shorter period of time.” In addition, the geographic distribution and opening hours of community pharmacies make the vaccination process “more user-friendly,” adds the same diploma.
Taking advantage of the experience gained during the pandemic in vaccination centers, “now the Ministry of Health intends to introduce this process into its structures, namely health centers, and extend it to community pharmacies,” the decree says. adding that they can determine the diploma for participation in the seasonal vaccination campaign public pharmacies that have a vaccine administration service, specialists who have received special training in the use of vaccines and have expressed their willingness to participate in the campaign.
According to the decree, the Order of Pharmacists (OP) will work with the Ministry of Health services in providing updates on vaccines that will be approved for this seasonal vaccination campaign.
“In order to ensure the success and maximum quality of the whole process”, Ordem dos Farmacêuticos will provide a free online training for pharmacists with pharmaceutical competence in the field of vaccine and injectable administration, the purpose of which is to educate these specialists in the specifications of these vaccines “starting with preparation”. administration to ensure high standards of efficiency and effectiveness of the 2023/2024 vaccine campaign.”
Covid-19 is a respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2, a type of virus discovered in late 2019 in China and rapidly spreading around the world, with several variants and sub-variants, some more contagious than others.
The disease was classified as a pandemic on 11 March 2020 and ceased to be an international public health emergency in May 2023.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.