The Department of Health will be offering a new Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine at no cost to New Brunswick residents effective July 2, 2024.
Note: The last day to administer publicly funded pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (Pneumovax 23) is June 30, 2024.
Licensed pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who have completed training and have been authorized by the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists to administer injections may administer publicly funded PREVNAR 20 (DIN 02527049) to the following individuals:
The pharmacist may employ a registered nurse, physician, or nurse practitioner to administer the pneumococcal vaccine, however they cannot administer and bill for New Brunswick residents under 18 years old.
A patient profile should be set up for any client and must include the vaccine recipient's name and address, Medicare number (if available), date of birth, date the vaccine was administered and the name and lot number of the vaccine.
The Department of Health will pay participating providers for each claim billed for eligible patients in New Brunswick. The participating provider is not permitted to charge additional fees to the patient for administration or prescribing of publicly funded pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
Manual claims will not be accepted. Claims must be submitted online and include the following information:
Field |
Information Required |
Carrier ID |
NB |
Group Number or Code |
I (Note: this also applies to New Brunswick Drug Plans beneficiaries.) |
Client ID |
Patient’s NB Medicare number. (Note: this also applies to New Brunswick Drug Plans beneficiaries.) |
Patient Code |
Leave Blank |
Patient Name |
Patient’s first and last name |
Patient DOB |
Patient’s date of birth |
Prescriber ID |
New Brunswick College of Pharmacists Licence Number of the pharmacist administering the vaccine. |
Prescriber ID |
46 |
DIN / PIN |
PREVNAR 20, DIN 02527049 |
Quantity |
1 |
Days Supply |
1 |
Drug Cost / Product Value |
Zero |
Cost Upcharge |
Zero |
Professional Fee |
$13.00 |
Please ensure the publicly funded pneumococcal conjugate vaccine supply is used for this program.
Adult Routine Program
Pharmacies should order pneumococcal vaccine at no cost from the provincial supply for qualifying individuals 65 years of age and older via the Vaccine Operations Centre (VOC). This is the same process pharmacies follow when ordering COVID-19 and influenza vaccines on the DIS SharePoint site. Pharmacies can order in 10 dose increments, no more than 20 doses per order. The pneumococcal vaccine will be distributed from McKesson.
High Risk Program
Pharmacies must order the pneumococcal vaccine at no cost from the provincial supply for qualifying individuals living in an adult residential facility aged 18 to 64 years using the “High Risk Condition Prevnar 20 Order Form”. The order form can be found in the Vaccine Communications folder on the DIS SharePoint site and should be completed and emailed to [email protected] for approval and allocation of doses for this use.
If pharmacies have any questions, they are encouraged to contact the Vaccine Operation Centre (VOC) at [email protected]
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who administer the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine should access the Public Health Information Solution (PHIS) to view clients’ immunization records.
To request PHIS immunization viewing access, pharmacy immunizers may complete and return the “Public Health Information Solution – User Account Request Form Immunization viewing” to the PHIS Helpdesk Support Team at [email protected].
As per the Public Health Act, all immunizers of publicly funded vaccines must document the immunization within one week of administration. To meet this requirement, pharmacists need to enter the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine administration into the DIS within one week of the client’s receipt of vaccine. The DIS sends this immunization information directly to the Public Health Information Solution (PHIS). It is important to ensure that the vaccine information is accurate as this becomes a client’s official immunization record in the immunization registry.
Additionally, regulation 2009-136, section 14 under the Public Health Act requires that those who administer a vaccine provide the recipient with a record of the immunization. A computer generated-prescription receipt would satisfy this requirement.
Payments made for fees that do not comply with this policy are subject to audit and recovery.
Web page last updated: June 24, 2024