OPA COVID-19 Vaccines June 28, 2021 Update and COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives

Vaccine Shipments Hold on Federally Observed Independence Day
In observance of Independence Day, no COVID-19 vaccines will be delivered on Monday, July 5, from the state vaccine allocation. Vaccinators who need vaccines over the holiday weekend must submit orders by close of business on Monday, June 28, to ensure delivery before the holiday weekend. In addition, please contact the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Provider Call Center (844-963-4829 or covidvaccine@odh.ohio.gov) upon placing the order to help ensure ODH is aware of your holiday weekend vaccine needs. Orders received after Monday, June 28, will be processed for Tuesday, June 6 onwards.

Pfizer Vaccine Ordering Updates  
The minimum order for direct shipment of COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer is 450 doses. Providers can order in increments of 450 doses directly from Pfizer. Ohio vaccinators can continue to order Pfizer vaccine from ODH in increments of 30.

Reminder: Managed Care Programs Announced Pharmacy Incentives for COVID-19 Vaccine
Ohio’s Medicaid Managed Care Programs announced additional pharmacy incentives through CSS Health and OutcomesMTM platforms. Pharmacists can now engage further with Ohio’s Medicaid population to have meaningful patient interactions answering their questions and administering the COVID-19 vaccines. These added incentives allow for targeted outreach to the Medicaid population so that pharmacists can bring their clinical expertise along with evidence-based information to combat vaccine hesitancy. Ohio Medicaid patients for the following plans are eligible for this incentive:

• Buckeye Health Plan- Medicaid
• CareSource (via CSS Health)
• Molina Medicaid
• Molina Medicaid- COVID-19 Immunization
• Paramount – Medicaid
• UHC Ohio Medicaid

These incentives further emphasize the importance of the community pharmacist in accessibility to patients, particularly in under-vaccinated counties across the state. For specific details about the incentive programs, please see the following press releases: Outcomes(TM) partners with Medicaid plans to help Ohio Medicaid members get vaccinated and  CareSource Partners with CSS Health to Help Members Get Vaccinated.

Independent Pharmacy COVID-19 Vaccine Gift Card Incentives for Medicaid Patients 
Independent pharmacies have an additional opportunity to receive Visa gift cards to share with Medicaid patients who receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the program described above. If you are an independent pharmacy vaccinator, please fill out this COVID-19 Medicaid Patient Incentive Survey to provide the number of gift cards needed for 30 days by the close of business on Wednesday, 6/30. Thank you to those who have already responded with the projected numbers of gift cards needed.

Pharmacies that cannot use Visa gift cards for this incentive program can also share an incentive flyer created specifically for Medicaid patients to receive a gift card online. An email with the gift card tracker example has been sent to all independent pharmacy owners and managers. If you have not received this email, please reach out to Myriam Shaw Ojeda at mshawojeda@ohiopharmacists.org.

Independent Pharmacy COVID-19 Vaccine Incentives for Medicaid Patients Reporting 
Independent pharmacies that receive COVID-19 vaccine gift cards for Medicaid patients will be required to track the gift cards along with patient vaccine administration information to the patient’s corresponding managed care program. Information to include are:

• 12 Digit Gift Card Number
• Member ID
• Patient Last Name
• Patient First Name
• Address
• Date of Service
• Date of Birth
• COVID-19 Vaccine Brant
• Managed Care Plan

Please ensure that the gift card tracker documents have patient information specific to each managed care plan and that the information is sent securely to protect patient information. An email with the gift card tracker example has been sent to all independent pharmacy owners and managers. If you have not received this email please reach out to Myriam Shaw Ojeda at mshawojeda@ohiopharmacists.org.

United States Pharmacopeia (USP) Updated COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit
Last week USP released an updated version of the COVID-19 Vaccine Handling Toolkit. This update includes:

• Extended storage time for undiluted, thawed Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
• Considerations for maximizing doses withdrawn from recently authorized, larger-size Moderna vials.
• Revised beyond-use date information (12 hours after vial puncture) for the Moderna vaccine.

Helpful State Vaccine Resources and Information
The following resources are helpful for vaccinators to contact ODH regarding vaccine shipments:

• COVID Vaccine Provider Call Center: 1-844-963-4829 (The ODH Provider Call Center is open daily from 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and is no longer open on weekends)
• COVID-19 Vaccine Provider Resources website
• ImpactSIIS Job Aids and Videos
• ImpactSIIS help desk: email impact@odh.ohio.gov for assistance or call 1-866-349-0002.

    OPA is working diligently to facilitate communication between state decision-makers and member pharmacists. OPA has created multiple COVID-19 resources, including a COVID-19 Vaccine Information Webpage, COVID-19 Testing Hub, and COVID-19 Resources Webpage, on the OPA website www.ohiopharmacists.org under the Resources drop-down box. For further questions, please contact Myriam Shaw Ojeda, Fellow in Policy and Innovation, at  mshawojeda@ohiopharmacists.org.