New York pharmacists to vaccinate

BUFFALO, N.Y. A university in western New York has stepped in to help pharmacists learn how to administer vaccinations.

The University of Buffalo announced Thursday that it would sponsor a training session at its pharmacy school Saturday to provide training to pharmacists for administering flu and pneumonia vaccinations. Training is necessary for the pharmacists to receive certification to perform vaccinations.

The New York State legislature passed a law last fall that allows pharmacists to administer flu and pneumonia shots to adult patients. Forty-eight other states allow pharmacists to administer shots.

“The biggest reason we and so many others pushed for this is that not enough people are getting flu shots,” University of Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences associate dean Karl Fiebelkorn said in a statement. “More than 30,000 people in the United States die every year from the flu and pneumonia, and between 4,000 and 6,000 of those deaths are in New York State.”