technician vaccination training

Next class: april 26, 2025

Overview
An educational opportunity designed for pharmacy technicians who will be administering vaccines. The two-part program meets the requirements specified in Section 3 of K.S.A. 65-1635a, which was amended in 2023 to include pharmacy technicians 18 years old or older and working under the direct supervision of a pharmacist, to administer influenza vaccine to a person six years of age or older and other vaccines to those 12 years of age or older pursuant to a vaccination protocol.

The first part will provide an overview of vaccine principles including immunity, types of vaccines, reading immunization schedules, and required documentation. The second part will focus both on recognizing and treating severe vaccine-related adverse reactions including anaphylaxis. Additionally, it will teach how to properly administer intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) vaccine doses. For vaccine administration, both IM and SC administration techniques will be demonstrated. To become certified, participants are required to successfully administer injections (2 IM and 1 SC) into a partner in front of a health care provider who is currently a certified immunizer and paperwork signifying successful completion of this must be returned to KPhA within one month of the webinar.

Please note: For certification to be valid, you must also obtain CPR certification which KPhA does not offer. Check with your local Red Cross or American Heart Association office. An online CPR class will suffice, but should be healthcare setting-related and should cover techniques used on adults and children.

1. Principles of Vaccination
2. Describe the how immune system responds to vaccine antigens to produce antibodies.
3. Categorize different types of vaccines as live or inactive.
4. Express how vaccines should be stored and monitored to ensure effectiveness.
5. Vaccine Safety
6. Contrast vaccine contraindications and precautions.
7. Distinguish local from systemic adverse reactions and know which vaccines are most likely to cause each.
8. Understand why and when Vaccine Information Statements need to be given.
9. Recognizing & Treating Adverse Reactions
10. Recognize the signs and symptoms of both vasovagal syncope and anaphylaxis and be able to differentiate between them.
11. Describe the progression of an anaphylactic allergic reaction including both what to listen for and what to look for during a reaction.
12. Demonstrate the correct dosing and administration of epinephrine using and EpiPen autoinjector.
13. Vaccine Administration
14. List the steps necessary for correctly administering influenza vaccine nasal spray (LAIV).
15. Correctly identify anatomical locations for safely administering both intramuscular (IM) and subcutaneous (SC) vaccine doses.
16. Demonstrate correct vaccine