Vote & Vax Summary Report

On Election Day, the UMES School of Pharmacy organized the inaugural Vote & Vax Initiative – free flu clinic. This is the culmination of a student-led public health initiative started in May 2018 to select the clinic site and coordinate collaborations with sponsors and stakeholders, as well as other regulatory logistics. In May 2018, the UMES School of Pharmacy’s Inaugural Vote & Vax Initiative was started by a student, now alumnus class of 2019, Lilai Teum who was on a public health APPE rotation with faculty preceptor, Dr. Hoai-An Truong. Upon initial planning, Lilai and Dr. Truong reached out to APhA Operation Immunizations and its members, including students, now alumni class of 2019, Emily Biskach and Victoria Hearn, who were both active in APhA-ASP and SNPhA. The Healthy People 2020 National Health Goals, specifically Immunization & Infectious Diseases Objectives 1 and 12 served as a mission statement throughout the planning stages. Objective 1 is to “reduce, eliminate, or maintain elimination of cases of vaccine-preventable diseases” while Objective 12 states, “increase the percentage of children and adults who are vaccinated annually against seasonal influenza.”

The planning team selected the Pocomoke City Volunteer Fire Department as the site based on its high voter turnout during the 2016 election. Pocomoke is also in close proximity to UMES, making the student recruitment process convenient. Dr. Truong provided the committee with a published article detailing the utilization of the Assessment, Development, Assurance Pharmacist’s Tool (ADAPT) to ensure a quality implementation of an Election Day flu clinic. This article served as a checklist for all logistics related to promotion, student recruitment, sponsor collaboration, regulatory compliance, and documentation of results for future research. On Election Day, the committee was able to receive immunizations from both Atlantic General Hospital and the Worcester County Health Department. Nurses from the health department were also available to vaccinate children under the age of 18.

Of the 61 vaccinations that were administered from 10 am to 2 pm, 55 patients agreed to complete an anonymous evaluation after receiving their shot. 54.5% of surveyed patients had private insurance and approximately 40% were on either Medicare or Medicaid. The data also revealed that 49% of participants are within the age group of 40 to 64 years old and 16.3% of participants included those 65 and over. Sixty-one vaccines were administered at the clinic over a 4-hour period. A total of 8 university faculty members and sponsors were present to conduct vaccination and counseling supervision. Nineteen students also volunteered at various designated time shifts.