8.3 Immunizations & Vaccine Administration

8.3 Immunizations & Vaccine Administration

Quick Answer: Minn. Stat. §151.01, subd. 27(6) authorizes pharmacists to initiate, order, and administer influenza and COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 vaccines (FDA authorized or approved) to eligible individuals age 3 and older, and all other FDA-approved vaccines to patients age 6 and older according to ACIP recommendations. Pharmacists must use MIIC (Minnesota Immunization Information Connection) for pre-administration assessment (with a flu/age exception) and must report administrations to MIIC. Administration may be delegated to a trained technician or intern only if detailed training, CPR, and in-person supervision (not telehealth) conditions are met.

Immunization law is classic Area 2 material: ages, registries, delegation, and supervision traps appear frequently on state MPJEs.

Age and Product Rules (Memorize Exactly)

Do not swap ages. A stem about a 4-year-old receiving a non-flu, non-COVID ACIP vaccine under the “other vaccines” lane is a fail under the age 6 floor. A 4-year-old influenza or COVID vaccine can fit the age 3+ lane if otherwise eligible.

Authority includes initiating, ordering, and administering—not merely giving a shot after a physician wrote every vaccine Rx. Still follow ACIP recommendations for the “all other vaccines” category and remain inside the statutory ages.

Training Prerequisite for Anyone Who Immunizes

A pharmacist may delegate vaccine administration under clause (6) to a pharmacy technician or pharmacy intern who has completed training in vaccine administration if:

(i) the pharmacist and the technician or intern have successfully completed a program approved by ACPE specifically for administration of immunizations, or a program approved by the Board.

Both the supervising pharmacist and the immunizing delegate need the immunization administration program—not “pharmacist trained, tech watches a YouTube video.”

A vaccine protocol under §151.01, subd. 27a(2) is the written plan authorizing vaccine administration consistent with clause (6). Keep immunization protocols in the same mental folder as therapy protocols, but remember vaccines have their own statutory checklist.

MIIC Assessment and Reporting

Clause (6) imposes registry duties on the pharmacist:

Trap pattern:

• Flu shot for a 10-year-old: assessment via MIIC not required under the age-9+ flu exception, but reporting still applies.
• Pneumococcal vaccine for a 45-year-old: assess via MIIC and report.
• COVID vaccine for a 5-year-old: assess and report (COVID is not the flu exception).

Pediatric Counseling Hook (Age 18 or Younger)

If the patient is 18 years of age or younger, the pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or pharmacy intern must inform the patient and any adult caregiver accompanying the patient of the importance of a well-child visit with a pediatrician or other licensed primary care provider.

This is a statutory communication duty, not optional customer service. Exam items often bury it after a successful injection vignette.

Technician Delegation: Extra Safeguards

When a pharmacy technician administers vaccinations while supervised by a licensed pharmacist, all of the following apply (clause (6)(v)):

High-yield failures: remote telehealth “supervision” of a vaccinating tech; no CPR card; pharmacist not immediately available; missing immunization CE/training pathway evidence.

Interns are included in the general delegation language of clause (6) with the shared ACPE/Board immunization program requirement; technician-specific item (v) layers the CPR/in-person/CE/6800.3850 rules onto technician administration. On mixed stems, apply the strictest applicable checklist that matches the actor in the vignette.

Connecting Immunizations to Other Advanced Authorities

• Immunization is part of the practice of pharmacy definition—successful completion of an immunization program does not by itself create §151.37 contraceptive/NRT/HIV prescribing authority.
• CLIA-waived testing (clause (3)) is a separate tool; do not treat a rapid test as a substitute for ACIP/MIIC immunization rules.
• Federal PREP Act or emergency authorizations may appear in real practice history; the Minnesota MPJE still expects you to know Minnesota’s statutory ages, MIIC duties, and supervision rules as codified in §151.01, subd. 27(6).

Operational Best-Practice Anchors (Exam Framing)

While statute sets the legal floor, practice questions often assume pharmacists also:

1. Screen for contraindications/precautions consistent with ACIP and product labeling
2. Obtain appropriate consent/authorization documentation under site policy and applicable law
3. Manage emergency response readiness (aligned with CPR expectations for techs and professional standards for pharmacists)
4. Document lot, site, route, VIS/fact information as required by federal/state record rules
5. Maintain cold-chain and storage compliance (operations overlap with Area 4)

Use those as “reasonable practice” backdrop; when the stem is pure jurisprudence, answer with statute first (age, MIIC, delegation, well-child notice).

Study Checklist

1. Flu & COVID: age 3+; other FDA-approved vaccines: age 6+ per ACIP.
2. MIIC assess before vaccines, except flu for age 9+; always report administrations under the clause.
3. Immunizers need ACPE (or Board-approved) immunization administration training.
4. Tech administration: in-person supervision (no telehealth), immediate pharmacist availability, CPR, 2 hours immunization CE, and 6800.3850 training pathway.
5. Patients ≤18: well-child visit importance notice to patient and accompanying adult caregiver.
6. Keep vaccine protocol definition (27a) tied to clause (6).

Next: broader drug administration (IM/SC, mental-illness agents, first dose/emergencies) and therapy-management operations.