Belgian doctors have strongly condemned the decision to allow pharmacists to administer flu vaccines alongside general practitioners this autumn.
To increase the still too-low vaccination coverage against flu in Belgium, particularly for certain at-risk groups, Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke confirmed earlier this month that pharmacists will also be able to administer the flu vaccine.
However, this decision was made without any consultation with the medical unions, which have criticised it.
"With his bill to extend pharmacists' vaccination rights to flu vaccines, Minister Vandenbroucke is devaluing the high-quality work of general practitioners," the Belgian Association of Physician Syndicates (BVAS/ABSyM) and doctors' union Kartel noted in a statement.
The groups argued that it is "totally unacceptable" that pharmacists will soon be allowed to administer flu vaccines, adding that transferring vaccinations to pharmacists contributes to "the erosion and devaluation of the medical profession". They warned that they will oppose the extension of pharmacists' vaccination rights "by all means."
Repeat of past mistakes?
This is not the first time pharmacists have been given permission to administer vaccines, nor is it the first time it has resulted in anger from doctors. At the end of the Covid-19 crisis in 2022, a bill allowing some pharmacists to administer Covid-19 vaccinations was passed.
Various doctors' unions and associations were very critical of the decision at the time, stating that pharmacists only receive eight hours of training, whereas a doctor has been trained for nine years to recognise side effects and to know how to react. The doctors' unions are still legally challenging this decision, and while the height of the pandemic is over, pharmacists can still administer this vaccine.
Credit: Belga/Herwig Vergult
When passing the bill, Vandenbroucke stressed that the measure would only apply to the Covid-19 vaccine and that the intention was not that pharmacists would be allowed to administer flu vaccines. However, one year and a half later, the health minister has made a U-turn on this decision, to the regret of doctors.
The authorisation will only apply for the upcoming vaccination season, from 1 October to 31 December 2023, but the measure may be extended further. Belgians can also once again be vaccinated against influenza as well as Covid-19 at pharmacies that are equipped and have undergone training for this purpose.
"According to the memorandum to the bill, the use of pharmacists is necessary to achieve a higher flu vaccination rate among vulnerable populations. But there is no evidence that pharmacists add value as vaccinators," ABSyM and Kartel noted. "On the contrary, if vulnerable patients would stop getting vaccinated by their doctors, the risk of collateral damage is real."
The groups instead advocated for the delivery of vaccines directly to GP practices if authorities "really want to increase vaccination rates," so that patients "no longer have to make the diversions past a pharmacy."
