IN a move to accelerate the National COVID-19 Vaccination Programme (PICK), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), in collaboration with the Malaysian Pharmacists Society (MPS) developed and launched the Certified Training Programme on Immunisation for Pharmacists (CTPIP) Module.
Speaking to FocusM, MPS president Amrahi Buang said the certification programme is aimed at training and equipping pharmacists with relevant knowledge and professional training to administer vaccines to patients.
“On Jan 27, our Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin had announced measures to rope in community pharmacists to assist with the COVID-19 vaccination efforts, as the aim was to hit 150,000 administrations daily.
“But as of today, the vaccination rates for Malaysia are still slow, while new COVID-19 cases had been increasing exponentially despite the Government’s efforts in enforcing an Emergency to cope with the pandemic.
“Therefore, MPS, along with USM, had heeded this call to produce competent pharmacists capable of vaccine inoculation,” he said.
The CTPIP programme is scheduled to run for 40 hours and is open to community pharmacists and pharmacy undergraduates, covering eight modules which are:
- Introduction to Vaccines
- Vaccines and Preventable Disease
- Adverse Events Following Immunisation (AEFI)
- Immunisation in Special Population
- Misconception on Vaccines: Myths and Facts
- Policy Implementation and Surveillance
- Communication of Vaccines
- Vaccine Administration
On the cost of the programme, Amrahi said that it is estimated to be worth RM400.
“With the assistance of community pharmacists, we believe the inoculation effort can be stepped up in the wake of Phase 3 starting in May.
“This is evident in countries like the US, UK as well as Singapore which have recently added trained pharmacists into their list of eligible vaccinators,” he remarked. – April 26, 2021
