In This Issue

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January 29, 2021

Dear <<First Name>>, Welcome to this week's issue of the California Pharmacists Association's CEO Message.

IN THIS ISSUE Pharmacies to Play Major Role in Distributing COVID-19 Vaccine, Sharing Information A key component of President Biden’s five-step vaccine plan is to “fully activate the pharmacies across the country.” This will greatly expand the number of providers to administer vaccines – and expand the role of pharmacists in the pandemic in the weeks and months ahead. [Read Article]

California, Nation's Most Populous State, Struggles With Vaccine Rollout On NPR Morning Edition, CPhA CEO Susan Bonilla spoke with NPR about the confusion surrounding California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout and how pharmacists can help. [Read Article]

Local Pharmacist has Been Working Days On End to Make Sure People in SoCal get COVID-19 Vaccinations CPhA President-Elect Dr. Richard Dang is featured on News Radio KNX 10.70 where he is highlighted with all the work that he is doing in Southern California's COVID-19 vaccination efforts. [Read Article]

The Pharmacist's Impact: Reimagined the Life Sciences Beyond COVID-19 From payer-mix changes, to pricing and profitability concerns, COVID-19 has made the biopharma industry fraught with market and other pressures. However, these circumstances have also presented new opportunities, including accelerated adoption of digital tools and approaches. [Read Article]

University of the Pacific Hosts COVID-19 Vaccination Clinic CPhA Past President Dr. Veronica Bandy spoke on KCRA about the vaccination clinic that was held by the University of the Pacific in Stockton. [Read Article]

Can the US Keep COVID Variants in Check? Here’s What It Takes The covid-19 variants that have emerged in the United Kingdom, Brazil, South Africa and now Southern California are eliciting two notably distinct responses from U.S. public health officials. [Read Article]

Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Vaccine, How it Works and Why It Matters A third Covid-19 vaccine, one made by Johnson & Johnson, could be authorized for use in the United States in the near future. Data about the single-shot vaccine released Friday, and the company is now collating its data to apply to the US Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization. [Read Article]

Mass Vaccination Efforts Thrust Pharmacies To Center Of COVID-19 Fight Millions, if not most, Americans will likely get their COVID-19 vaccines at a drugstore or at events hosted by pharmacies at local gyms and churches. Mass vaccination is familiar territory for pharmacies. It's also fraught with new challenges this time around, as NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports. [Read Article]

U.S. CDC Sees Lower Rates of Allergic Reaction after Pfizer Vaccine The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Wednesday it is observing a lower rate of severe allergic reactions in people in the United States who have received Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine. [Read Article]

CDC Reports Rare Allergic Reactions to Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine, like the one made by Pfizer and BioNTech, appears to induce rare anaphylactic reactions in a small number of people who receive the vaccine, new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest. [Read Article]

Blue Shield of California to Oversee State's COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Blue Shield of California reached an agreement with Gov. Gavin Newsom to oversee the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Los Angeles Times. Under the agreement, Blue Shield will oversee the state's vaccine rollout to California counties, pharmacies and private healthcare providers, according to the news report. [Read Article]

Ralphs Forced to Postpone COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments After County Pulls Back Doses Some L.A. County residents who were scheduled to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine shot will have to wait longer after officials pulled back some doses allocated for Ralphs pharmacies. [Read Article]

CDC Says Vaccine Doses may be Spaced Further as FDA Eases Stance Follow-up doses of the COVID-19 vaccines could be given up to six weeks later if it’s not feasible to get them in the recommended interval, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also offering some flexibility for “modest delays.” [Read Article]

Merck to Stop Developing its Two COVID-19 Vaccines and Focus On Therapies Merck said Monday it will stop developing both of the current formulations of the COVID-19 vaccines the company was working on, citing inadequate immune responses to the shots. [Read Article]

Pfizer Will Ship Fewer Vaccine Vials to Account for ‘Extra’ Doses After the surprise discovery of an extra dose in every vial, Pfizer executives successfully lobbied the F.D.A. to change the vaccine’s formal authorization language. The company charges by the dose. [Read Article] California Activates Statewide 'MyTurn' Vaccine Clearinghouse Website Facing criticism for its chaotic COVID-19 vaccine rollout, California has quietly launched a long- promised statewide website to help residents learn when they are eligible to receive the vaccine and schedule appointments. Called MyTurn (myturn.ca.gov), the online registry has not yet been widely promoted and still is a work in progress. [Read Article]

Governor Newsom Signs Executive Order to Help Bolster State’s Vaccination Efforts CPhA's advocacy efforts resulted in the Governor signing an executive order confirming that existing law protects certain health care professionals, including pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, from legal liability when they render services at the request of state or local officials during a state of emergency. [Read Article]

California Group Creates Website to Help Seniors Find COVID-19 Vaccines The COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been confusing for many across the state, so a group of volunteers came together to help seniors easily figure out where to get the shots. A team in Silicon Valley came together and within two days, the group created a website called Vaccinate CA. [Read Article]

COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution: How High-Tech California is Now Trying to Fix It California's muddled county-based coronavirus vaccine distribution system has stoked confusion, frustration and angst for citizens across America's most populous state. [Read Article]

Biden and Health Care: What Can He Do in 100 Days? Joe Biden ran on an expansive health care platform during his 2020 presidential campaign, with a broad array of promises such as adding a government-sponsored health plan to the Affordable Care Act and lowering prescription drug prices. Perhaps most significantly, he pledged to get control of the COVID pandemic that claimed more than 400,000 American lives by Inauguration Day. [Read Article]

Google Commits $150M to COVID-19 Vaccine Education Google is committing $150 million to promote COVID-19 vaccine education and equitable distribution to underserved communities, the tech giant announced Monday. Google also pledged to open up its own facilities to serve as vaccination sites as needed. [Read Article]

What Lies Ahead For Pharmacists in 2021 Long gone are the days when pharmacists were sometimes referred to as pill-counters and considered just dispensers of medication. Pharmacists have become recognized as critical front-line workers in the fight against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) while remaining active members of the patient care team. [Read Article]

Why this is Digital Healthcare’s Moment Today, the COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare weaknesses in health systems and healthcare approaches as the world works to cope with the dual challenge of a global pandemic and ongoing patient needs. [Read Article]

2020 FDA Approvals Show Innovation Despite COVID-19 Pandemic Challenges A new report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes that the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) approved 53 novel drugs last year. These figures are in addition to innovative medicines that are approved through FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research —which include for example, cell therapies, gene therapies, vaccines and other biologic medicines. [Read Article]

Risk-Based Analytics Can Breakdown COVID-19 Vaccination Bottlenecks The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relaxed COVID-19 vaccine restrictions and the vaccine supply is growing, yet some areas are begging for more vaccines to meet demand. [Read Article]

Global Health Leaders On what Went Wrong in the Pandemic Health officials from around the globe have been vigorously discussing that question over the past week at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's Executive Board. The members, whose nine-day-long, mostly virtual gathering concludes on Tuesday, have heard recommendations from four separate panels. [Read Article]

New Insulin Report Highlights How Incentives Benefit Middlemen, Harm Patients The Senate Finance Committee has released a new report detailing findings of their investigation into the role that market dynamics play in the pricing of insulins. The report conclusions further solidify what we already know: perverse incentives in the market drove up insulin costs for patients. [Read Article]

Coordinated Efforts in Healthcare is Essential for Safe, Timely Administration of COVID-19 Vaccines Dan Rodriguez, R.Ph, BS, Pharm, a healthcare thought leader/strategist, facilitator of pharmacist training programs and provider of “medication management education” for patients, sheds some light on these questions from a pharmacist’s perspective. [Read Article]

U.S. Drug Prices Were More than Double those in Dozens of Countries in 2018 As debate intensifies over the cost of medicines, a new analysis found that prescription drug prices were on average 2.5 times more expensive in the U.S. than in 32 other countries. And that gap widened to 3.4 times costlier when looking specifically at brand-name medications. [Read Article]

Experts Share 2021 Digital Health Predictions With millions back in stringent lockdowns due to the new rampant coronavirus variant, and the rollout of a monumental global vaccination program - it's likely that 2021 will be another seismic year for digital health. [Read Article]

Rx Alert: Medi-Cal Clawbacks January 29, 2021 The California Pharmacists Association is aware that the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is attempting to resume the Medi-Cal retroactive recoupment of payments (clawbacks) on February 8, 2021. [Read Alert]

We've Extended the Deadline to Nominate Your Colleagues January 28, 2021 Now you have even more time to submit a nominations for CPhA Awards! Winners will be recognized alongside the 2020 recipients at Western Pharmacy Exchange in Palm Springs. [Read Memo]

Membership Matters: Intern Pharmacists Allowed to Administer COVID-19 Vaccinations January 27, 2021 DCA has issued a waiver allowing intern pharmacists to administer COVID-19 vaccinations under the supervision of a healthcare provider. We are thrilled that CPhA's advocacy efforts have resulted in more vaccinators protecting Californians. [Read Alert]

Membership Matters: Keeping Pharmacists at the Forefront of COVID-19 Vaccinations January 26, 2021 In the California Health and Human Services Agency press conference today, Secretary of the Government Operations Agency Yolanda Richardson said, "The vaccine provider network is expected to include public health systems, pharmacies, health systems, public hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies and pop-up and mobile sites with an immediate focus on allocating to today’s high-throughput providers. [Read Memo]

SIG Alert: Community Pharmacy SIG Meeting January 26, 2021 On behalf of the Chair of the CPhA Community Pharmacy SIG, Dr. Dawn Metrisin, and Chair-Elect Dr. Sanjay Patel, CPhA would like to invite you to a meeting of the Community Pharmacy SIG on Wednesday, February 3, 2021 at 5:30 pm. [Read Alert]

Interested In A APPE Rotation With CPhA? CPhA is starting an advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) rotation program with two elective opportunities. [Read More]

Pharmacists are the Leading Provider of Immunizations Winter is SNOW much better when you are healthy! Remember to visit your neighborhood pharmacist for vaccines that keep you healthy through winter and beyond.

COVID-19 Resources CPhA understands that it is very difficult to keep up with the various news and resources pertaining to COVID-19. As such, we have created a valuable resources page and a COVID-19 Taskforce that is preparing recommendations and guidelines to ensure the health of all pharmacy professionals. [Resources, Taskforce Recommendations. Counties Vaccination Information] COVID-19 On-Demand Continuing Education

Establishing CLIA Waived Lab Services in Community Pharmacy Basics of COVID-19 & Pharmacotherapy Considerations Understanding the Validity of COVID-19 Test Results What is an Emergency Use Authorization? Clinical Utility of Diagnostic & Serological COVID-19 Testing

A CPhA Virtual Town Hall MEMBERS EXCLUSIVE With the influx of information published on a moment-by-moment basis, the California Pharmacists Association invites you to a brief, forty-five minute Virtual Town Hall to understand the current state of affairs for pharmacy professionals and COVID-19. [View Program]

February 18 Virtual via Zoom 6:00 pm - 6:45 pm

Certificate Training Program

Anticoagulation AzPA’s Anticoagulation certificate training program provides pharmacists with the basic knowledge and skills necessary to care for patients taking anticoagulation therapies. [View Program]

July 17 Virtual via Zoom

Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Cardiovascular Disease Risk Management certificate training program explores the pharmacist’s role in cardiovascular disease risk management. [View Program]

August 21 Virtual via Zoom

Diabetes Care APhA's Pharmacist and Patient-Centered Diabetes Care Certificate Training Program gives participants experience evaluating and adjusting drug therapy regimens for patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, counseling patients about lifestyle interventions, analyzing and interpreting self-monitoring of blood glucose results, and assessing the overall health status of patients to identify needed monitoring and interventions. [View Program]

November 13 Virtual via Zoom

Immunization Delivery APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery certificate training program provides pharmacists with the skills necessary to become primary sources for vaccine advocacy, education, and administration. [View Program]

February 20 Virtual via Zoom

Medication Therapy Management Services APhA’s Delivering Medication Therapy Management Services certificate training program explores the pharmacist’s role in providing MTM services to patients. [View Program]

August 15 Virtual via Zoom

Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians Originally developed by Washington State University (WSU) and recently revised through a partnership between WSU and the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the APhA/WSU Pharmacy-Based Immunization Administration by Pharmacy Technicians training program explores the expanding role of the pharmacy technician by providing additional skills training to administer immunizations. [View Program]

February 13 Virtual via Zoom

View the entire calendar of events of educational opportunities. [Click Here]

On-Demand Courses

Providing PrEP and PEP in a Pharmacy To meet the Board of Pharmacy regulatory requirements the learning objectives for the 1.5 hour required training. [View Course]

WPE 2020 Virtual Education Bundle Looking to satisfy your continuing education needs before the end of 2020? CPhA is excited to offer our WPE 2020 Virtual Education Bundle, which includes 16 CE sessions representing 19.5 CPE hours of quality, relevant education for pharmacy professionals, all in one place. [View Bundle]

LOCAL ASSOCIATION EVENTS

Attention Local Leaders During our Fall Local Leaders Roundtable, CPhA provided our Local Leaders Manual! If you have not yet received your copy, please click here.

Sacramento Valley Pharmacists Association Join the Sacramento Valley Pharmacists Association on Wednesday, February 3 at 7 pm for their monthly meeting. Please contact Dr. Peter Tenerelli at [email protected] if you would like to join.

San Fernando Valley Pharmacists Association Join the San Fernando Valley Pharmacists Association on Wednesday, February 3 at 7:30 pm for their monthly meeting. Please contact Dr. Parisa Rafelzade at [email protected] if you would like to join.

Marin County Pharmacists Association Join the Marin County Pharmacists Association on Thursday, February 4 at 8 am for their new officer installation and monthly meeting. Please contact Dr. Steve Bacon at [email protected] if you would like to join.

Dear Susan,

A colleague of mine is wanting to learn more about the terms of CPhA membership. By any chance, does CPhA have a membership resource I can share with them?

Sean Ballard, PharmD Santa Clarita, CA Dear Dr. Ballard,

Thank you for asking such a valuable question! As you know, membership in CPhA is a fulfilling experience – our members are a result of hundreds of years of positive change for the pharmacy profession. We understand that membership is a year-to-year commitment and with endless personal and professional pressures, CPhA strives to be transparent in all of the services we provide. As such, we provide a member FAQ, which can be found here, as well as a more detailed membership brochure, which can be found here. If your colleague has any questions about membership or the experience they can expect to receive from joining CPhA, please have them reach out to Sheila Johnston, Senior Vice President, Business Operations, at [email protected]. We look forward to welcoming your colleague to CPhA!

Best,

Susan A. Bonilla Chief Executive Officer

Submit your Dear Susan question for a chance for your question to be answered in future newsletters. [Submit Question]

The California Pharmacists Association (CPhA) is the largest statewide professional association for pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians in the country. CPhA represents the pharmacy profession in all practice settings and promotes the health of the public through the practice of pharmacy. For more information, visit cpha.com.