Vaccinator Update
Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP) Amended to Increase Workforce Authorized to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines Effective January 28, 2021.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
amended the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act to authorize additional health care providers to prescribe, dispense and administer COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Specifically, the amendment:
- Authorizes any health care provider who is licensed or certified in a state to prescribe, dispense and/or administer COVID-19 vaccines in any other state or U.S. territory;
- Authorizes any advanced practice registered nurse, registered nurse, practical/vocational nurse or physician whose license or certification expired within the past five (5) years to prescribe, dispense and/or administer COVID-19 vaccines in any state or U.S. territory so long as the license or certification was active and in good standing prior to the date it went inactive; and
- Requires any health care professional described above to complete the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 Vaccine Training and, for health care providers who are not currently practicing or whose license or certification is expired, requires an on-site observation period by a currently practicing health care professional. Verification of completion of the education should be done during the observation period by the supervising personnel.
To check the expiration date of licenses and verify the license was in good standing at that time of expiration, follow this link:
https://mn.gov/boards/nursing/verify-a-license/.
Registered Nurses and Licensed Practical Nurses may administer a vaccine by a provider ordered protocol as provided in MS 148.235 Subd. 9:
“A nurse may implement a protocol that does not reference a specific patient and results in the administration of a vaccine that has been predetermined and delegated by a licensed practitioner as defined in section 151.01, subdivision 23, when caring for a patient whose characteristics fall within the protocol and when the protocol specifies the contraindications for implementation, including patients or populations of patients for whom the vaccine must not be administered and the conditions under which the vaccine must not be administered.”
Click the /boards/assets/Vaccinator_Update_12-2023_tcm21-467049.pdfVaccinator Update link to access the full article in PDF format.
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