Exploring the perceptions community pharmacists have towards the COVID-19 vaccine using a qualitative approach

Abstract Background Since the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in China emerged, millions have been affected. Due to the spread of the virus, and the increasing number of cases and deaths, the crisis has been declared a global pandemic. There have been several suitable vaccines and South Africa (SA) commenced its rollout in February 2021. The pharmacists have played a vital role through the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic as they are the first point of care for many. It is equally necessary to explore their perceptions towards the vaccine and vaccine rollout. In this study, the Theory of Planned Behaviour is utilized to explore pharmacists’ behaviour based on their perceptions towards the COVID-19 vaccine and the rollout. Method This study used a qualitative approach to gain depth on the topic and purposive sampling was used. Thereafter, more participants were recruited via a snowballing technique. All participants were community pharmacists in Durban, SA which was a COVID-19 hotspot. A letter of invitation containing an informed consent form was filled in by every participant. Semi-structured interviews were carried out and was audio recorded. Thereafter, the audio recordings of each interview were transcribed verbatim. Relevant quotes were isolated from the interview and were grouped into themes and sub-themes using Braun and Clark’s six-step data analysis. Results The four main themes were: Perceptions on the COVID-19 vaccine; Views on the vaccine rollout strategy; Pharmacist as an educator on the COVID-19 vaccine; Vaccine provision at the pharmacy. Each heading was broken down into sub-themes which were: vaccines are a social responsibility, pharmacists’ vaccine concerns, pharmacists’ views on the rollout strategy, pharmacists’ priority in vaccination, pharmacists’ self-reflection as an educator on COVID-19 vaccines, education topics, pharmacists’ sources of information for counselling, assuming the responsibility of becoming a vaccination centre, responsibilities of a pharmacist in a vaccine centre, planning and implementation to provide vaccines, challenges expected/currently experienced. Conclusion The pharmacist had a positive outlook on the COVID-19 vaccine and support the rollout. Furthermore, they play a necessary role in the vaccine rollout by educating patients and providing the vaccine at their pharmacies.