After COVID-19 vaccines became available to the public in late 2020, health care workers rallied to get the shots into the arms of millions of Americans.
Some pharmacy technicians helped with the mass immunizations. A six-hour course—developed by a Washington State University team led by Kimberly McKeirnan—prepared them to give vaccinations. Nationally, it was the first curriculum of its kind created for pharmacy techs.
The vaccine curriculum rolled out in partnership with the American Pharmacists Association in February 2020, just days after the first case of COVID-19 in the United States was reported in Snohomish County. Over the past five years, more than 139,000 pharmacy techs have taken the training.
“It was all hands on deck during the pandemic, just to make sure that everyone who wanted to be vaccinated could get their shots,” says McKeirnan (’08 PharmD), a professor in the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “We were able to help meet the need in communities by building up the workforce. That makes me feel really good.”
Besides helping with the initial COVID-19 immunization efforts, McKeirnan’s work continues to expand access to vaccinations, says Mark Leid (’83 Pharm.), dean of the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Nearly 75 percent of flu shots, COVID boosters, and RSV vaccines were given by pharmacy techs during the 2023–24 respiratory illness season. “That’s thanks in large part to Kim’s pharmacy tech training,” Leid says. Rural residents and underserved populations are among those benefiting.
The training grew out of McKeirnan’s earlier experience as a community pharmacist at a South Hill grocery store in Spokane. Patients came in to get their vaccinations but had to wait until she was free to administer the shot.
“Vaccinations were one of the things I really enjoyed about the job, but we were so busy I often had to say, ‘Please take a seat. It’s going to be a 45-minute wait,’” she says.
Meanwhile, McKeirnan recognized pharmacy techs as an under-utilized part of the system. “In a lot of ways, technicians are the heart of the pharmacy, but there were strict limits on what they could do.”
As a pharmacist, McKeirnan had a doctorate and 20 hours of immunization training. “That’s necessary when you’re reviewing medications and making decisions about what vaccines are appropriate for the patient,” she says, “but not if you are just administering the vaccine.”
Medical assistants give shots in doctor’s offices. Why not pharmacy techs working under the direction of a pharmacist, she wondered.
In Idaho, the Board of Pharmacy’s executive director was working on administrative rules in his state to allow pharmacy techs to give vaccinations. He approached McKeirnan in 2016 about providing the necessary training through WSU.
McKeirnan led the curriculum development and piloted its rollout, with contributions from WSU pharmacy fellows Kyle Frazier (’16 PharmD) and Taylor Bertsch (’16 PharmD), now an associate professor at WSU. Pharmacy techs complete two hours of online instruction, a written test, and four hours of live training.
“It’s critical that they get hands-on practice,” McKeirnan says. “They have to demonstrate their ability to administer shots, because we don’t want anyone out there immunizing who is not well trained.”
Since the curriculum is accredited through the American Pharmacists Association, pharmacy techs can use the training toward their required continuing education hours. In the last several years, other organizations also started offering vaccination training programs for pharmacy techs, including the Washington State Pharmacy Association.
“There’s been a huge explosion of interest,” McKeirnan says. “It ensures that pharmacy techs who are qualified and want to give vaccinations have access to training.”