By Vivian Shipe
KNOXVILLE, TN — One of the most startling changes to appear as the smoke clears from the pandemic fire of COVID-19 has been the realization of the number of people, especially elders who stopped getting their needed vaccinations over the last few years. Data from a July 2023 report from the CDC indicates children as young as kindergartners vaccination numbers declined from 94 percent to 93 percent over a two-year period, indicating over 250,000 school age children are unvaccinated, the lowest rate in over a decade. One of the ramifications of this decline is the possible effect on the elderly whose numbers were ravaged during the pandemic and stand to be adversely affected again as the cold and flu season arrives in a few months. While children are dependent on adults to get their shots, the question arises, why haven’t the elders gotten their vaccinations?
The reasons vary, transportation, being homebound, lack of insurance, fears, and myths. One of the largest barriers for those who have no insurance or are underinsured, is cost of needed vaccine. During the war on covid, doctors and nurses came out into the field and provided immunizations but, there was another essential front-line hero that was in those fields providing much needed vaccine also; it was the pharmacists of America.
Pharmacists, especially those in local communities, were key to public health during covid. They offered medication therapy, self-care help, point of care screenings, testing services, and vaccinations. According to John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, FAPhA, FASHIP, in a report commissioned by the American Pharmacists Association and cited by PMC (PUBMEDCentral), in an article in from Journal of the American Pharmacies Association; pharmacists expanded their services to help their communities anyway they could. From when the storm began in 2020 through the latest information at the end of 2022, the data on pharmacists indicates; over 42 million covid tests were provided, 350 million clinical interventions, and over 150 million people were provided antibodies and anti-viral care. a conservative estimate in the study indicates pharmacists and their teams averted over 1 million deaths, 8 million hospitalizations and over 450 billion in healthcare costs. Now, as RSV, COVID-19 and FLU rear their ugly heads threatening a possible tridemic, efforts to avert and keep seniors alive and well are beginning again. Of the over one million deaths in America during the pandemic, A report by the Washington Post in November of 2022 cited a CDC report that 9 out of every 10 who died from covid during the pandemic were over age 65.
Pharmacists again are preparing to step up to help in their communities. In East Tennessee, as part of the GET CAUGHT UP Initiative, a vaccine project offered through ETHRA/ETAAAD and funded by USAging, local pharmacies are being asked to participate in local vaccine drives in an effort to get seniors ages 60 and up, and those with disabilities ages 18 – 59, caught up on six vital vaccines. While the top three are flu, covid and RSV, the project is also pushing to get people to get their pneumonia, shingles and Hepatitis A and B series completed.
As the project rolls out in 16 counties of East Tennessee, many local pharmacies are stepping up to offer free vaccine to those most vulnerable. Munsey Pharmacy in Anderson County has stepped forward to offer two different vaccine clinics in September and October, offering free covid and flu shots and are working on being able to offer vaccines for the other four on the list. What makes a pharmacy, especially one in a community willing to give away thousands of dollars of life saving medication?
When asked, Dr. Jim Munsey, owner/pharmacists of Munsey Pharmacy, said this, “I opened Munsey Pharmacy in 2006 with the idea of taking care of patients and offering services that could not be found in big box stores. Services such as specialties in prescription drug compounding, medical equipment, home delivery and store charge accounts.,” Munsey also has on staff a nurse practitioner who can see and treat those with no primary care doctor and can treat and prescribe medications for a variety of issues.
As Munsey, who has always had a heart for people, prepares for September 18th, the first of his two flu/covid free clinics, he shared that during the COVID Pandemic, his pharmacy was the FIRST in Anderson County to administer the vaccine and compounded their own hand sanitizer when there were supply chain issues. During the upcoming clinics, he plans to make provision for the homebound in his and surrounding counties to ensure they too GET CAUGHT UP!