Outreach is key to boost vaccine rates

Pharmacy teams across Canada are making an impact in raising vaccine awareness and improving immunization rates—and proactive outreach can be key to success.

The Canadian Foundation for Pharmacy showcases two of these pharmacy teams here. one Calgary team is making their mark in travel health; the other in Ontario is bringing vaccine services to vulnerable patient populations. Both shared their stories as applicants for CFP’s inaugural Innovation in Vaccine Services Award, launched in 2024.

Details for submitting entries to the 2025 Innovation Vaccine Services coming soon!

Safe travels to home countries

The article’s featured image shows pharmacist Brandon Brost administering a vaccine as part of this patient’s travel consultation.

Located in a bustling mall beside a medical clinic, Pacific Place Pharmasave in Calgary, Alberta, counts a diverse group of patients of Chinese, Vietnamese and Filipino descent among its regular clientele. Recognizing that many of these patients were travelling to their home countries where vaccine-preventable diseases are prevalent, pharmacist/owner Brandon Brost took the initiative to enhance the pharmacy’s travel health services.

First, he obtained his Certificate in Travel Health from the International Society of Travel Medicine. He then ensured his fellow pharmacists were comfortable providing comprehensive travel consults along with him, hired additional support staff to handle the administrative duties, and trained support staff to identify patients with complex travel itineraries for referral to a pharmacist. Finally, he engaged with the adjacent medical clinic to encourage doctors to refer their patients.

To ensure a well-prepared and efficient travel consultation, Brost developed an email intake system so patients could submit their travel information and consent beforehand.

A year later, in addition to regular vaccines services, the pharmacy is providing two to three travel consults a week, with two to four vaccinations per traveler.

Business also grew after the pharmacy partnered with SafeTravels Health, an online platform that advertises with travel-related websites like VRBO, Expedia and Booking.com, to reach travelers during their vacation-planning stages.

“We plan to collaborate with more travel agencies and online platforms to reach a broader audience. Our goal is to establish Pacific Place Pharmasave as a leading provider of comprehensive vaccine services,” says Brost.

Bridging services to vulnerable patients

The team at Community Choice Pharmacy in Rexdale, Ontario, has made it their mission to offer comprehensive vaccine services, regardless of a patient’s socioeconomic status or location.

Under the leadership of pharmacist/owner Sherry Naguib, the pharmacy team improved internal procedures to reduce wait times and improve efficiencies, including an information-and-consent form to be completed by patients or caregivers before appointments.

Naguib partnered with Rexdale Community Health Centre (CHC), setting up in one of its three locations, to expand outreach. She has presented to many groups of refugees and seniors at the centre, explaining how vaccines work, why they are affective, how they are administered (including with other vaccines) and how they benefit people with health conditions or comorbidities.

This collaboration with CHC has enabled Naguib to work with nurses in providing vaccinations to long-term care facilities and homeless shelters, in addition to providing these services in the pharmacy.

Last year Naguib joined the Pharmasave banner and looks forward to raising even more awareness of her pharmacy’s vaccines services. She speaks French, Arabic and a variety of other languages, and has hired other multi-lingual staff to improve communication efforts with newcomers to Canada. “We aim to organize more awareness events in collaboration with relevant entities to ensure our message reaches the widest possible audience,” says Naguib.