Martha Marx

State Senator Martha Marx Joins Passage of Bill Allowing Pharmacists To Administer Additional Vaccines

Today, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London) joined the Senate’s passage of a bill allowing pharmacists to administer additional vaccines, tests and drugs and make changes to consumer access to medications. It would make changes initially introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic to remain effective in perpetuity, expanding public access to medical resources in the process. Sen. Marx is Senate Vice Chair of the Public Health Committee.

Senate Bill 1102, ‘An Act Concerning Pharmacies And Pharmacists,’ passed the Senate with unanimous 35-0 support and now heads to the House of Representatives.

“Pharmacists statewide have played a valuable and vital role to support public health, especially in their administration of hundreds of thousands of vaccines in recent years,” said Sen. Marx. “Giving them the legal authority to administer vaccines, tests for viral illnesses and epi-pens in the event of allergic reactions indefinitely will drastically benefit public health in Connecticut by making important and potentially life-saving medical services accessible at any community pharmacy. I’m very encouraged by the advancement of this legislation.”

Senate Bill 1102 will enact the following:

Establish a licensing process for institutional pharmacies located in health care facilities, such as hospitals, to compound sterile pharmaceuticals and sell them at retail; Allow pharmacists to order and administer tests for COVID-19, HIV, and influenza; Allow pharmacists to prescribe and dispense HIV-related preventative healthcare if a patient tests negative after a pharmacist administered HIV test; Expands the vaccine types that pharmacists can administer; Allow pharmacists to administer an epinephrine cartridge injector to someone experiencing anaphylaxis; Allow pharmacies to operate mobile pharmacies in temporary locations with the Department of Consumer Protection’s (DCP) approval; Require pharmacies to maintain a plan to manage unscheduled closings and specifies actions that can and must be taken during these closures ; Require the DCP to adopt regulations on prescription pickup lockers at pharmacies.

Senate Bill 1102 will also allow pharmacists to vaccinate individuals over the age of 12 and mandates insurance coverage for medication administration.

According to the National Community Pharmacy Association, over 90% of Americans live within five miles of a community pharmacy, more than any other segment of the pharmacy industry. Independent community pharmacies are often located in underserved rural and urban areas. Pharmacists are trained in providing services outside of dispensing medications like medication therapy management, managing chronic disease and performing health and wellness testing. This legislation permits pharmacists to perform tests to initiate treatment of illnesses. Allowing pharmacists to perform these services allows them to minimize the long-term costs that can compound when a disease is not recognized and treated in time.

Between 2019-2022, Connecticut pharmacists and pharmacy technicians administered over 11,000 childhood vaccines to children. During that time, over 257 thousand COVID and influenza shots were administered to the childhood population by pharmacists, under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act during the pandemic. This bill makes permanent the ability of pharmacists to test for COVID-19 and adds testing for other conditions.