What’s new and am I Up To Date?: Immunization Information That’s Easy to Understand

By Walter L. Fitzgerald, Jr., BPharm, MS, JD

Published September 2, 2022 at 2:57 PM MDT

St. Luke’s pharmacists on the first day of treating COVID-19 patients with monoclonal antibodies at an infusion site in Meridian. “The pharmacy team stepped up and showed how innovative we can be,” said Kelley Curtis, chief pharmacy officer for St. Luke’s Health System. “Because of this effort, we believe we can reach more patients than we ever thought possible. I am extremely proud of our team that worked to open this expanded clinic quickly and safely in order to serve our community.” (Courtesy of St. Luke’s Health System)

Pharmacy Fusion offers an inside look, in an easy to understand format, at the new guidelines and availability of COVID-19, monkeypox. Meningitis and influenza immunizations.

This month’s Pharmacy Fusion features Dr. Kevin Cleveland and student pharmacist Allie Bradley. In addition to teaching about immunizations to health professional students, Dr. Cleveland works with the Idaho Immunization Coalition on several initiatives to improve vaccination rates in rural and underserved populations in Idaho. He is also the advisor to the Operation Immunization student community outreach program that provides vaccination services throughout Idaho. Allie is this year’s Operation Immunization chairperson.

Besides COVID-19, other Immunizations are becoming more widely available, including most recently the Monkeypox vaccination. Dean Fitzgerald leads Dr. Cleveland through a series of questions concerning all types of vaccines, their intended use and the age recommendations for each, while Allie explains the student organization’s efforts to provide immunizations across the state of Idaho.
Guests:
Kevin Cleveland, PharmD, Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy
Allie Bradley, 3rd year student pharmacist