Meet this year’s Vaccine Services Award winners

Whether it’s protecting the population at large or focusing on diverse communities, this year’s winners of the Vaccine Services Award prove that pharmacies are at the forefront of health innovation.

Sophie Park

In the category of individual or pharmacy team initiatives, Sophie Park and her colleague, Saffiyah Abdulaziz at the Rexall pharmacy in downtown Vancouver earned top marks for bringing vaccine services to communities where they’re needed most. Over the past two years, their collaboration with the Vancouver Police Department alone has delivered almost 600 doses of Shingrix (not covered by public programs) to first responders. “We also run flu and COVID-19 clinics for frontline workers at fire stations and have served hundreds [of people] at wellness fairs hosted by Fairmont and Pan Pacific Hotels,” says Park.

Behind the scenes, Park and Abdulaziz have helped introduce technology and workflow innovations that make these programs sustainable. From pre-registration platforms and automated reminders to portable refrigeration units ensuring vaccine integrity on the move, her team has crafted a scalable system that can serve hundreds of people across multiple sites without compromising safety or quality.

“Our team also conducts post-clinic follow-up surveys to monitor outcomes and improve services,” noted Parks in her nomination form. “These integrated systems enable us to scale clinic operations across multiple locations—including hotels, offices, universities, police and fire stations—all while maintaining high safety and improving quality standards.”

For the award for top chain/banner initiative, judges lauded Neighbourly Pharmacy for the impact of its vaccine campaign across more than 300 pharmacies. Focused on a 12-week period, pharmacy teams administered more than 4,300 adult immunizations, prioritizing protection against RSV, HPV, pneumococcal disease and shingles (the latter proved most popular).

The campaign, developed by the Neighbourly Pharmacy Clinical Care team, involved each pharmacy receiving a full suite of resources to support them. This included clinical training webinars, patient-facing posters, bag-stuffers and handouts, consent forms, reference guides and even branded t-shirts to spark patient conversation and raise awareness.

Daily ‘Start Strong Huddles’ kept teams focused on campaign goals and encouraged consistent messaging. All materials were housed in shared digital folders for easy access and implementation. “This integrated approach ensured that both patients and pharmacy teams were informed, engaged, and aligned, resulting in increased vaccine uptake and stronger community health outcomes,” noted Neighbourly Pharmacy in its nomination.

In addition, the clinical care team organized on-site vaccination clinics for residents of continuing care homes and senior supportive living homes in the Calgary area.

With walk-in options, mobile clinics, and greater use of digital tools, Neighbourly Pharmacy is committed to ensuring that adult vaccinations become as routine as filling a prescription—and that all its pharmacies are seen as “trusted, year-round immunization hubs.”