Pharmacist Administered Publicly Funded Seasonal Influenza Vaccine (2020-21)

For the 2020-2021 influenza season, the Department of Health will be offering a Universal Seasonal Influenza Program at no cost to New Brunswick residents. Pharmacists who have completed training and have been authorized by the New Brunswick College of Pharmacists to administer injections may administer the publicly funded seasonal influenza vaccine.

Vaccines must be administered by an authorized pharmacist.

The Pharmacist may employ a nurse to administer the publicly funded seasonal influenza vaccine however the following conditions must be met:

• the pharmacist/pharmacy manager must obtain a Medical Directive with a physician or nurse practitioner. Pharmacists may not issue Medical Directives to nurses. A copy of the required medical directive must be kept by the pharmacist/pharmacy manager
• ensure the nurse hired is licensed with and authorized to practice by the Nurses Association of New Brunswick, (NANB);
• the nurse (RN) must demonstrate proof they are competent in providing immunization – as per the NB Immunization Program Guidelines Policy 2.4 - Competencies for Immunization Providers; and as per NANB Practice Standards (confirming competency verbally with the nurse and documenting that as part of the employment record is sufficient).
• in addition to the information normally documented and retained for influenza immunization, pharmacists must retain accurate internal records that identify the nurse (including the licence number) who administered the vaccine to each patient. This internal record can be kept as a hard copy (paper) or electronically.

Licensed pharmacists, who are certified for immunization, can provide vaccine to all New Brunswick residents with the exception of children under 5 years of age. Registered nurses/physicians/nurse practitioners hired and are billing under a Pharmacist cannot administer and bill for children under 5 years of age. For more information, please refer to the following links:

• The New Brunswick Immunization Program Guide
• Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Information for Immunization Providers
• Public Health Agency of Canada
• Immunize Canada

The seasonal quadrivalent influenza vaccine for 2020-2021, as per the recommendations by the World Health Organization for northern hemisphere, contains:

• an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus;
• an A/Hong Kong/2671/2019 (H3N2)-like virus;
• a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus; and
• a B/Phuket/3073/2013 (B/Yamagata lineage)-like virus.

Please be advised that publicly funded influenza vaccines for the 2020-2021 include the following products:

• Flulaval® Tetra (GSK) 
• Fluzone® Quadrivalent (Sanofi)
• Influsplit™ Tetra Quadrivalent (GSK)

The seasonal trivalent influenza vaccines for use in the 2020 – 2021, as per the recommendations by the World Health Organization for northern hemisphere contain:

• an A/Guangdong-Maonan/SWL1536/2019 (H1N1) pdm09-like virus;
• an A/Hong Kong/2671/2019 (H3N2)-like virus; and
• a B/Washington/02/2019 (B/Victoria lineage)-like virus

The following will be offered to residents aged 65 years and older living in long-term care facilities (licensed nursing homes and adult residential facilities). For the 2020-2021 influenza season, vaccination services for residents of adult residential facilities will be provided by the New Brunswick Extramural Program working in collaboration with other partners. Providers will access this vaccine directly through Central Serum Depot.:

• FLUZONE® High-Dose (Sanofi)

Flulaval® Tetra and Fluzone® Quadrivalent are supplied in 10 dose vials. Fluzone® Quadrivalent pre-filled syringes are also available in limited quantities. FLUZONE® High-Dose is supplied in pre-filled syringes.
 

The seasonal influenza vaccine must be administered to qualifying residents between October 1^st and July 31^st to be eligible. 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. Claims must include the following information:
 

Note: 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.
 

NEW Influenza Vaccine Ordering Process for Pharmacies:

New Brunswick’s influenza vaccine is expected to arrive in October. All orders will be reviewed to ensure equitable distribution to all health care providers. Priority groups will be established for supply distribution to ensure that individuals at highest risk receive vaccine first (i.e. hospitals, long-term facilities, etc.)

In the past years, manufacturers supplying Canada with influenza vaccine have experienced shortages or delays in the delivery of their vaccines for various reasons, which are beyond the control of the provinces and territories. To allow for sufficient time to deliver this year’s influenza vaccine to your facility/clinic, do not schedule your immunization clinics before you have received the vaccine. Also, New Brunswick receives a percentage of the overall influenza vaccine order for the season in four or more shipments over several weeks, so you will not receive 100% of your vaccine order in the beginning.
 

Product Information for pharmacies ordering from McKesson

Product Information for pharmacies ordering from Matrix (Shoppers Drug Mart)

Please note: it is important for pharmacies to ensure they have adequate storage capacity and conditions for the vaccine prior to submitting an order.

Pharmacy Audits

• Payments made for fees that do not comply with this policy are subject to audit and recovery.