Importance of Vaccination to Independent Pharmacy Profitability | AAP 2025

During the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists administered vaccines at a higher rate than other healthcare professionals.¹ Under the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, pharmacists administered over 300 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to patients. Research has also shown that when pharmacists administer vaccines, it has a positive impact on uptake and patient satisfaction.²

For Greg Mitchell, owner of United Drug Superstore in Hatch, New Mexico, getting into vaccinations during the public health crisis turned out to be a game-changer. By the end of 2020, his pharmacy administered over 5,800 vaccines, which had a positive impact on his store’s profitability. Vaccines now make up about 5% of his business and account for 10% of his total gross margin.

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At the American Associated Pharmacies (AAP) Annual Conference, held April 10 to 12 in Austin, Texas, Drug Topics® sat down with Mitchell to discuss how important vaccine administration is to a pharmacy’s overall profitability, what strategies pharmacists can use to maximize vaccine uptake and patient engagement, and how retail pharmacies can leverage vaccine services to build long-term patient relationships.

“[My pharmacy] is in a rural area, and when we started off doing the COVID-19 vaccines, we actually did more vaccines in our small, rural pharmacy in Hatch, New Mexico than any other pharmacy in our county,” Mitchell said. “Our county includes the second most populous city in the state, with multiple Walgreens, multiple CVS, multiple Walmarts, every chain pharmacy you could think of. We did a great job on it, and a lot of the patients were so happy that we've made patients out of them. They've come 40 miles to our pharmacy from the city, where there's plenty of pharmacies to choose from. They've decided to come back and do business with us. Just do a good job and people will stay with you.”

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References

1. Carroll JC, Herbert SMC, Nguyen TQ, et al. Vaccination equity and the role of community pharmacy in the United States: A qualitative study. Vaccine. 2024 Jan 25;42(3):564-572. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.12.063. Epub 2024 Jan 9. PMID: 38195264.

2. Religioni U, Vaillancourt R, Kazmierczak J, et al. Patient Opinions and Satisfaction Regarding Pharmacists Delivering Vaccinations in Community Pharmacies. J Patient Exp. 2025 Mar 13;12:23743735241309473. doi: 10.1177/23743735241309473. PMID: 40092975; PMCID: PMC11907534.