Pharmacies in Slovakia can vaccinate adult people against the flu from 2024. (source: SME - Marko Erd)
From the beginning of next year, pharmacies will be allowed to vaccinate people in Slovakia following an approved amendment to the Medicines Act.
Pharmacists will only be able to vaccinate adults against the flu, but this must be preceded by a referral from a doctor.
The Health Ministry believes that the vaccination rate of the population will increase after introducing the change and healthcare costs are reduced, given the availability of pharmacies, the SITA news agency wrote.
Pharmacists welcome the possibility of vaccination against the flu in pharmacies as well, the TASR news agency reported. The total vaccination rate of the population in Slovakia is currently one of the lowest in Europe, they note. Countries in which vaccination is carried out in pharmacies achieve a higher proportion of the vaccinated population than before its introduction, pharmacists say.
The flu leads to between 4 and 50 million symptomatic cases in Europe each year, with approximately 15,000 to 70,000 citizens dying from influenza-related causes.
Pharmacists in Slovakia will be trained for the new competence within a new accredited study programme at Comenius University in Bratislava.
