Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences is partnering with Wake Technical Community College in Raleigh to certify pharmacy technology students so they can administer vaccines under the supervision of a pharmacist.
Campbell will provide a four-hour Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) training course at Wake Tech’s Perry Health Sciences campus. The Wake Tech Foundation will cover the cost of the course for the initial group of students.
“Campbell University has been training pharmacists to vaccinate for nearly 20 years, and we look forward to providing the same level of dedication and knowledge to train these future pharmacy technicians,” said Dr. Beth Mills, clinical associate professor of Pharmacy Practice at Campbell University. “Pharmacies are positioned to play a vital role in access and administration of the COVID-19 vaccine during this public health crisis. We are committed to training pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to become certified vaccinators to get vaccine into the arms of North Carolinians, which will bring us one step closer to putting an end to this pandemic.”
Wake Tech and Campbell University formed the partnership after the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expanded the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act in December 2020. Under the revised PREP Act, qualified pharmacy technicians are permitted to administer vaccinations under the supervision of a qualified immunizing pharmacist. Prior to this revision, pharmacy technicians were not permitted to administer vaccinations in North Carolina.
A qualified technician is one who is registered with the North Carolina Board of Pharmacy (NCBOP), CPR certified, and has successfully completed an ACPE immunization course.
“This is a huge step in advancing the role of pharmacy technicians,” said Shannon Natale, department head, Pharmacy Technology. “We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with Campbell University so we can provide immunization training to our students. We are excited that our graduates will be playing a vital role in getting the COVID-19 vaccine out to the citizens of North Carolina.”
The partnership between Wake Tech and Campbell will allow pharmacy technicians to join nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare workers in vaccinating people against the coronavirus.