New law allows pharmacists to vaccinate children
Gov. Wolf signed into law Friday a bill expanding access to flu vaccine by allowing children as young as 9 to be immunized at a local pharmacy.
Gov. Wolf signed into law Friday a bill expanding access to flu vaccine by allowing children as young as 9 to be immunized at a local pharmacy.
The action eliminated a Pennsylvania stipulation that only physicians could administer flu vaccines to school-age children, and granted thousands of pharmacists across the state that same ability.
The intention of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Seth Grove (R., York), is to boost vaccination rates - and curb incidents of the flu - by expanding availability and convenience to families who may be unable to find time to visit a doctor, Grove said.
During the 2013-14 flu season, nearly 40 percent of Pennsylvania children did not receive vaccination, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly matching the national average.
The Pennsylvania Department of State estimates there are 8,816 licensed pharmacists with the authority to administer immunizations. Previously, patients getting vaccines from those pharmacists had to be at least 18.
Parental consent still is required.
"This is all about opening up access," Grove said Friday. "Parents and individuals are always around pharmacies, whether that be at grocery stores or [other locations]. Hopefully, now, we will see a nice uptick in immunization."
From Sept. 28 to last Saturday, more than 55,000 cases of the flu were reported in Pennsylvania, according to the state Health Department. Of the 216 flu-associated deaths during that period, four were children.
Pennsylvania joins 36 other states that allow pharmacists to immunize children, Grove said, adding that the law does not mandate that children receive the vaccine. In Philadelphia, public school children must be vaccinated against 10 illnesses. Flu is not one.
"With Pennsylvania's low immunization rates, you can either increase access points or do mandates," Grove said. "We're attacking opening access."
After a six-year push by Grove to get the bill to the governor's desk, it passed through the legislature this year with near-overwhelming support. Grove originally pushed for a much younger age. In its current form, it passed by 49-0 in the Senate this month and 195-2 in the House.
The State Board of Pharmacy supported the legislation and expects to discuss its implementation at its next meeting, a spokeswoman for the Department of State said Friday. The law is to take effect in 60 days.
