The 2024-25 influenza immunization season is just around the corner and soon there will be high demand among the public to receive their influenza vaccine from pharmacists.
This past spring, pharmacists who renewed their registration were also required to renew their authorization to administer drugs by injection. The ACP team noted that some pharmacists unintentionally missed renewing their authorization to administer drugs by injection and no longer have this authorization. As you and your team prepare for the upcoming influenza immunization season, it’s a good time to double check that your authorization is valid and that your CPR and first aid certification is current. If you do not have authorization, you are not permitted to administer drugs by injection.
Licensees, pharmacy team members, and members of the public can check any pharmacist’s authorizations by using the “Find a pharmacy or registrant” feature on abpharmacy.ca homepage. Simply search the pharmacist’s name and any current authorizations will be displayed in the search results. If the authorization does not appear next to the pharmacist’s name in the search result, that means the pharmacist does not currently have authorization to administer drugs by injection and will need to take steps within myACP to apply to reinstate their authorization. Steps to apply to reinstate your authorization to administer drugs by injection are available under the Frequently asked questions section of this webpage.
Pharmacy teams should also note that pharmacy students and provisional pharmacists (interns) cannot administer injections without direct supervision. This means the following:
- Students and interns cannot be scheduled to run an influenza immunization clinic by themselves.
- It’s important to make sure the student or intern has completed the necessary training prior to being supervised to provide this restricted activity.
- Any pharmacist who is going to supervise students or interns while providing this restricted activity must have current authorization to administer drugs by injection as well as valid and current CPR and First Aid certification.
Keep your eyes on ACP’s Seasonal influenza information webpage for information about the upcoming influenza immunization season. The webpage will be updated as information becomes available.
