The California Department of Consumer Affairs is being urged to take action to help pharmacists and pharmacies ramp-up COVID-19 testing as supplies become more available – which is critical to protect Californians and ultimately to re-open the state.
The California Retailers Association (CRA) and NACDS wrote to Director Kimberly Kirchmeyer, asking the Department to remove remaining legal barriers to help align with new federal guidance that positions pharmacies and pharmacists to help meet the demand for testing.
CRA and NACDS emphasize that empowering pharmacists is consistent with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s announcement yesterday that the state is expanding testing locations. The groups also say that pharmacists – as highly educated and accessible professionals – ultimately will prove vital to a sustainable and scalable point-of-care testing strategy, and to meeting the needs of underserved communities.
“We respectfully request that the state immediately authorize COVID-19 testing by pharmacists to drive the health of our communities and restore the health of the state’s economy. As the Governor and other experts have acknowledged, more testing for COVID-19 in California is desperately needed,” wrote CRA President Rachel Michelin and NACDS President & CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE.
CRA and NACDS are asking the state to take action that would coincide with an April 8 guidance by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that authorizes pharmacists to order and conduct testing for COVID-19 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized. Nineteen other states have put into place policies consistent with the HHS guidance.
Looking ahead, the associations also urged the state to prepare now to make an eventual COVID-19 vaccine swiftly available to Californians, by assuring pharmacists have the ability to give FDA-backed COVID-19 vaccines.
Such policies enjoy strong support among Californians. A poll conducted by Morning Consult and commissioned by NACDS March 26 – April 2 found that 76% of California voters say pharmacists should be allowed to test for COVID-19, and 78% say they should be allowed to provide a vaccine or other medication to protect against COVID-19.
CRA and NACDS urged additional actions necessary for pharmacies to safeguard the health of the public and of employees, maintain operations, and help patients stay on their medication therapy. In so doing, they hailed some related actions already taken by Gov. Newsom during the crisis.
