The Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Tuesday the appointment of Tennessee pharmacist Hillary Blackburn to the federal vaccine advisory panel.
Blackburn, the director for medication access and affordability at Ascension, is the only pharmacist now serving on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).
Her appointment comes after ASHP and its partner organizations requested in an Aug. 25 letter to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that he appoint a pharmacist to ACIP, whose recommendations are linked to insurance coverage and pharmacist authority to administer vaccines in many states.
Blackburn was one of several pharmacists recommended by ASHP and its pharmacy partners.
