FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                 Contact: Mark Grayson

September 24, 2009                                                                                                        202-835-3460 

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) recently released the “Operational Framework for Partnering with Pharmacies for Administration of 2009 H1N1 Vaccine” document that serves as a guide for state and territorial health officials to establish effective partnerships with pharmacies to administer the H1N1 vaccine.  This was created to assist in bringing community pharmacies and the public health community together to help ensure the mass vaccination of the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine to the United States population.

Rx Response Director Erin Mullen, Ph.D., praised the new framework as an important step in protecting public health against the spreading H1N1 virus. “Rx Response is proud to have been a participant in the process through our early discussions with pharmacy retailers about how community pharmacy could be engaged on the H1N1 front,” said Mullen.

These initial discussions led to key planning meetings among Rx Response Coordinating Body Members the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) and the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA); as well as the larger pharmacy community represented by the American Pharmacy Association (APhA) and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA). In addition to ASTHO, public sector participants in the planning meetings included the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO), HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), and the Office of Medical Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security.

Dr. Paul Jarris, MD, the Executive Director of ASTHO, recently released the new Operational Framework for H1N1 to state health services leaders and asked Rx Response and others to spread the word about this critical agreement to their partners and stakeholders. A copy of the Operational Framework can be obtained at the following link: (http://www.astho.org/Programs/Infectious-Disease/H1N1/OpFramework_Pharmacies_STHOs_FINAL)

As the H1N1 influenza continues to spread across the United States, Rx Response will remain vigilant on behalf of the biopharmaceutical supply system in protecting public health through the work of the Rx Response coordinating body members.