The Department of Health will be offering a new Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine at no cost to New Brunswick residents effective July 2, 2024.
Pharmacists who have completed training and have been authorized by the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists to administer injections may administer the publicly funded pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to eligible New Brunswick residents 18 years of age and older.
Publicly funded PREVNAR 20 (DIN 02527049) can be given as follows:
Routine Immunization
- have never previously received a dose of Pneumovax 23 vaccine can receive one dose of Prevnar 20, or
- previously received a dose of Pneumovax 23 vaccine before 65 years of age can receive one dose of Prevnar 20 (at least one year after the last dose of Pneumovax 23).
NOTE: Individuals who received a dose of Pneumovax 23 at 65 years of age or older are not eligible for routine immunization with Prevnar 20.
High Risk Immunization
- are newly admitted to the facility can receive one dose of Prevnar 20, or
- have never previously received a dose of Pneumovax 23 vaccine can receive one dose of Prevnar 20.
- Patients who have previously received a pneumococcal vaccination require a minimum interval of one year between doses. However, if more rapid completion is required, a minimum interval of 8 weeks is needed between Prevnar 13 and Prevnar 20.
NOTE: At this time, pharmacists cannot administer publicly funded Prevnar 20 to any other high-risk groups (e.g., individuals living in the community who are less than 65 years of age with eligible conditions, previously vaccinated adults 65 years of age or older with eligible conditions).
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.
If registered nurses, physicians, nurse practitioners, licensed practical nurses, pharmacy technicians or paramedics are hired to administer injections on behalf of a pharmacist, the claims must be submitted using the license number of the pharmacist. If another immunizer administers the vaccine on behalf of the pharmacist, they cannot administer and submit claims for children under 18 years of age.
The date of service must be the date of vaccine administration. Claims cannot be submitted in advance of the vaccine administration date.
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 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), using the DIS SharePoint site.
Pharmacies can request a minimum of 10 doses per order. The pneumococcal vaccine is 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 years of age or older 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 pneumococcal vaccine can view clients’ immunization records in the NB Electronic Health Record (EHR).
A patient profile should be set up as for any client and must include the vaccine recipient's name and address, Medicare number, date of birth and gender, date the vaccine was administered and the name and lot number of the vaccine.
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 vaccine administration into the Drug Information System (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.
In addition to the information normally documented and retained for pneumococcal immunization, pharmacists who employ another immunizer must retain accurate internal records that identify the immunizer (including the license number) who administered the vaccine to each patient. This internal record can be kept as a hard copy (paper) or electronically.
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.
All claims submitted for reimbursement by participating providers are subject to audit and recovery.
Web page last updated: September 17, 2025