A qualitative exploration of pharmacists’ perceptions regarding COVID-19 conspiracies and their willingness to get vaccinated. A semi-structured questionnaire guide was developed using ground theory to conduct in-depth interviews. A total of 36 participants gave consent for an audio-recorded interview. Results have shown that most of the respondents believed that SARS-CoV-2 is a natural virus, not man-made, that causes a disease just like other viruses and it is absurd to believe that the vaccine is being used by foreign powers for the implantation of microchips just to control humans. A general opinion thatwhich reflected from the in-depth interview is that the pharmaceutical companies may be hiding some important information on COVID-19 to promote the sale of their product. Some doubts on the reliability and trustworthiness on the COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy data were noticed among the respondents. Factors leading to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy were adverse reaction, cost of COVID-19 vaccine, and limited data on safety and efficacy profile of COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among health professionals is a major hindrance to our current fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Findings of this study are alarming, and the stakeholders must consider this ongoing vaccination campaign as an opportunity to formulate a mechanism to ensure high vaccination rate among general public and healthcare providers in Pakistan. KEY POINTS What was already known? What this study adds:

Objective: The objective of this study is to observe the knowledge, attitude and practices related to antibiotic use, the prevalence of self-medication and non-adherence to the prescribed course of antibiotics across Pakistan. Method: A cross-sectional quantitative study on knowledge, practices, attitude and adherence to antibiotic therapy was conducted from January 2021 to March 2022 among the adult population living in different areas across Pakistan. Individuals with poor knowledge were selected for video-based intervention programme. Video template produced by WHO to create antibiotic awareness was used for this purpose. A postintervention study was conducted to assess the improvement in their knowledge and practices regarding the use of antibiotics. Paired samples t-test was applied to assess the improvement in postintervention survey scores. Results: 68.9% (n=340/493) of the participants were female and the majority of the sample population was from urban areas. Our study revealed that 39.2% (n=196) of individuals have undergone self-medication with antibiotics in the last 6 months and 42% (n=207) of the total participants were non-adherent to antibiotic treatment plan. Lack of proper information from healthcare professionals was observed to be the most important barrier to antibiotic treatment adherence. The interventional video was shown to 31.64% (n=156/493) of participants who lack proper knowledge about antibiotic use and its associated problems. There appeared to be a significant improvement in the postintervention mean scores of knowledge, practices, attitude and adherence related to antibiotics. Conclusion: This study highlights the alarming situation of self-medication and non-adherence to antibiotic therapy. To cope with the situation, certain pertinent measures are direly needed before the precious lifesaving antibiotics become useless in eradicating various controllable microbial diseases.

Objective: Good hand hygienic practices are considered an important factor to curb the transmission and emergence of SARS-CoV -2. Various studies, conducted previously during the outbreaks of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV, have ascertained the effectiveness of adopting good hand hygienic practices to curb the emergence of these viruses. This study aims to explore public hand hygienic practices during the peak pandemic period. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in general population of Pakistan to investigate the knowledge and perception about hand hygiene, self-reported hand hygiene practices, adherence to hand hygienic guidelines, and barriers to optimal hand hygiene. Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U test and Regression model were used for statistical analysis. Results: There was a significant difference in area-based knowledge (p=0.026), beliefs (p=0.027), and practices (p=0.002) regarding hand hygiene. The results of regression analysis revealed that people in urban areas were more likely to have better knowledge (β=0.108, CI=0.076-0.05, p=0.008) and better adherence (β=0.115, CI=0.514-2.68, p=0.004) to hand hygienic practices. Conclusion: Advertisements on television and other electronic media with appealing slogans could be effective in making people more compliant to optimal hand hygienic practices.

Background: Pharmacogenomics has emerged as a useful tool in tailoring drug therapies, particularly in managing chronic diseases, where safety and efficacy over the long term are critical. Objective: This study aimed to establish pharmacogenomics' effect on drug prescribing practices among medical practitioners managing chronic illnesses. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was performed through a questionnaire structured in the physicians', pharmacists', and healthcare practitioners' practicing clinics of Pakistan. Data were examined through SPSS version 26.0 utilizing descriptive and inferential statistical analysis. Results: The results indicated that while 76.2% of the participants knew about pharmacogenomics, 45.5% of them reported using it in prescribing. A clear majority recognized that it could restrict adverse drug effects (69.4%) and enhance therapeutic efficacy (72.8%), but asserted that they encountered barriers of training and infrastructure that limited its use. Conclusion: This study concludes that although pharmacogenomics is more familiar with its benefits in chronic disease management, its use in routine practice remains limited, which emphasizes the role of guideline-based implementation strategies, clinician education, and policy efforts.