Pharmacist and Pharmacy Student Vaccination Authority: An International Survey of Pharmacy Educators

Pharmacists' vaccination authority has expanded globally over the past four decades, but the scope of practice, meaning which vaccination activities pharmacists are legally authorised to perform, varies substantially by country. Pharmacy student authority to vaccinate, continuing education requirements, and pharmacy educators' own perceptions of the benefits of pharmacist-administered vaccination have received comparatively little systematic, cross-national attention. This study aimed to describe pharmacist and pharmacy student scope of practice regarding vaccine administration, continuing education requirements, and pharmacy educators' perceptions of the benefits of pharmacist-administered vaccination, across an international sample of countries.

A cross-sectional survey of pharmacy educators was administered via Qualtrics between January and April 2026. Eighty-one responses representing 35 countries were analysed. Associations between pharmacist and student vaccination authority were tested using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests, with Cramér's V as the effect-size statistic, and the relationship between vaccination frequency and perceived benefits was assessed using Spearman's correlation. Three open-ended items were analysed using inductive qualitative content analysis.

Most respondents (65.4%) reported that pharmacists in their country have conditional vaccination authority. Pharmacy students remained largely unauthorised overall (69.6% report no student authority), and even among institutions where pharmacists were authorised to vaccinate, most (57.1%) reported that students were not. Pharmacist and student authority were significantly associated (χ² = 12.20, p < 0.001; Cramér's V = 0.39), and perceived benefit correlated with how frequently pharmacists vaccinated (ρ = 0.44, p < 0.001). Restricted or unclear regulatory authority was the most frequently cited challenge, and a recurring theme across items. Pandemic-era vaccination authority showed mixed retention afterward, narrowing in some countries while persisting or expanding in others.

Restricted or unclear regulatory authority was the most frequently reported barrier to expanding pharmacist- and pharmacy-student-led vaccination among respondents. Extending authority to appropriately trained pharmacy students and codifying pandemic-era emergency authority into permanent regulation are potential policy directions worth further investigation.