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Official Newsjournal of the Illinois Council of Health-System Pharmacists

PEARLS: Public Education & Awareness Outreach Publication Subcommittee
If Opportunity Doesn't Knock, Build a Door - A Call to Action

by Scott Drabant, BS - Zoology/Chemistry; BS Pharmacy; President, Medication Therapy Analytica, Inc. Chair of ICHP PEARLS

Opportunity is defined as a set of circumstances providing a chance or possibility, a stroke of good fortune, which presents itself and can either be grasped or lost. Pharmacists have an opportunity to do what we have been asking for years – recognized as healthcare providers. Pharmacy is not at the crossroad nor at a fork in the road, as has so often been stated, but rather we have an opportunity.

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team announced the creation of the COVID-19 advisory board comprised of a highly qualified group of health care experts that are being charged with the task of effectively directing the federal response to the pandemic. This board however does not include a pharmacist. This is disappointing A pharmacist should be on the COVID-19 Advisory Board – plain and simple!

The PEARLS (Public Education & Awareness outReach pubLication Subcommittee) committee is working hard to promote pharmacist/pharmacy technicians, but we need your help. If you are tired of being that ‘person behind the counter’ or relegated to the ‘lower bowels of the hospital’, then do something and do it now.

The profession of pharmacy needs a seat on the Advisory board. The sample letter below can be modified to meet your specific credentials. Click on the link and send the letter to President-elect Joe Biden. The opportunity can be grasped or lost – the choice is ours.

Find our sample letter here:
https://www.ichpnet.org/resources/KeePosted/PEARLS_-_letter_to_Biden_-_Feb_2020_2_.pdf

Send your message here:
https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/contact-us

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Dear President-Elect Biden,

Congratulations on your election to President of the United States.

Recently the transition team announced the creation of the COVID-19 Advisory Board comprised of a highly qualified group of health care experts that are being charged with the task of effectively directing the federal response to the pandemic. This board however does not include a pharmacist.

The US Department of Health and Human Services recently announced pharmacists will be allowed to administer the COVID-19 vaccines. Pharmacists have ranked as one of the most trusted and accessible healthcare professionals for many years. Pharmacists have intense training in vaccine safety and administration; this training is documented by certification from the American Pharmacists Association. More pharmacies are offering immunization services thus increasing the number of access points for patients. The general public prefers the convenience of receiving vaccinations from a pharmacist and more than 95% of patients live within 5 miles of a pharmacy. This translates to pharmacists being in a unique and beneficial position to closing the chasm for vaccinations. Pharmacists and pharmacies will play an integral role in the distribution, storage, and administration of COVID-19 vaccines not only in community settings but also in hospitals.

It is crucial in the midst of this pandemic to include a pharmacist as a member of the COVID-19 Advisory Board. This Advisory Board would benefit from the unique perspective from pharmacists who work with patients with COVID-19 daily on the front lines, in the community, in hospitals, and in many other capacities.

I strongly urge the consideration of adding a pharmacist to this critically important Advisory Board.

Thank you in advance for your consideration,

Your NAME/Credentials