Naloxone is a prescription opioid antagonist that is available as a nasal spray or injection and is indicated for reversal of opioid overdose.¹ Naloxone has been identified as a life-saving medication for individuals with opioid use disorder,² with multiple health stakeholders, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention³ and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA),⁴ encouraging action to increase uptake. In the face of the opioid epidemic, naloxone access has become especially pertinent. In an effort to combat opioid-related deaths, many states have expanded access to naloxone using state standing orders. Naloxone standing orders authorize pharmacists to supply naloxone to patients under a standing prescription, which eliminates the need for a patient-prescriber encounter to authorize the medication. The first standing order for naloxone was created in 2007, and sharp adoption of these laws occurred in 2013.⁵ To date, 47 states have express standing orders for naloxone.⁶ Existing evidence from the National Bureau of Economic Research indicates that among states that have enacted these measures, a 9% to 11% decrease in opioid-related deaths has been observed.⁶ However, naloxone may not be accessible to patients despite it being lawfully attainable without a prescription.

After the emergency use authorization of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccinations in the United States, existing pharmacy infrastructure was leveraged to disseminate vaccines. However, the national uptake of COVID-19 vaccines remains poor. This survey study of Mississippi pharmacists aimed to identify barriers to providing COVID-19 vaccination among pharmacists in practice settings that provided other vaccines. A thematic analysis was used to analyze open-ended survey responses. This study found that the greatest identified barrier to COVID-19 vaccination for pharmacists was patient willingness. The thematic analysis revealed logistical barriers, vaccine hesitancy, and rural pharmacy distribution concerns. These findings suggest that pharmacists require further training in overcoming vaccine hesitancy, and potentially indicate a need for the distribution of vaccination responsibilities to additional pharmacy staff members.