Supported by GSK
Chair:
Mr Sherif Guorgui, President, FIP Community Pharmacy Section, Canada
Introduction:
This interactive session will explore how pharmacists can strengthen vaccine confidence and uptake, drawing on insights from the Global Listening Project and GSK’s Why Behind the Why research into the real-world challenges healthcare professionals face when discussing vaccination. Participants will hear how evidence-based strategies and frontline experience combine to overcome barriers, build trust and translate listening into action for better public health outcomes.
Speakers:
- Jaimie Green, Director of Insights, within the adult vaccine portfolio and Lead of 'Why Behind the Why' research, GSK, USA
- José Luis Nájera, Pharmacist influential voice
Programme:
| 13:00 – 13:05 | Opening |
| 13:05 – 13:15 | Part 1 – Patient Barriers to Vaccine Conversations |
| 13:15 – 13:30 | Part 2 – Pharmacist Barriers to Vaccine Conversations |
| 13:30 – 13:45 | Part 3 – Strategies that Work |
| 13:45 – 14:00 | Audience Interaction & Wrap-up |
the key findings from the Global Listening Project and GSK’s research, and how these insights reveal both opportunities and barriers for pharmacists in initiating vaccination conversations.
2. Explore practical, patient-centred strategies — such as personalised recommendations, storytelling and gradual, ongoing engagement — that pharmacists can use to build trust and increase vaccine uptake.
3. Identify ways industry, professional associations and policymakers can collaborate to provide pharmacists with the training, tools, and system-level support needed to maximise their role in vaccine confidence and coverage.
Take home messages:
- Pharmacists are among the most trusted and accessible healthcare professionals, uniquely positioned to strengthen vaccine confidence and uptake.
- Insights from the Global Listening Project and GSK’s research with pharmacists reveal both opportunities and barriers in initiating vaccination conversations, including time constraints, business pressures and concern about damaging patient relationships.
- Empathetic, patient-centred communication — often built gradually over time — is key to moving to action; pharmacists report that personal stories and lived experiences are their most effective tools.
- Evidence-based strategies, such as personalised recommendations and lived-experience storytelling, can significantly boost vaccine acceptance.
- Collaboration between industry, professional associations and policymakers is critical to equipping pharmacists with the tools, training and support needed to champion public health.
