PREP Act authority for pharmacy technicians to give COVID-19, flu shots ends Dec. 31, 2024

A presenter at the meeting said the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act provisions that have authorized qualified pharmacy technicians to administer COVID-19 and influenza vaccines to patients age 3 and older will expire on Dec. 31, 2024.

The restriction means that, according to the presenter’s statement, pharmacy technicians will not be permitted to administer COVID-19 or influenza vaccines under the PREP Act after that date. The presenter identified the expiration date and the patient-age threshold as the key points of the announcement.

The PREP Act is a federal law that can provide temporary liability and authorization protections for specified medical countermeasures and personnel during public health emergencies. The presenter framed the information as a compliance and timing update for pharmacies and technicians. The meeting did not record additional details about any state-level rules or alternative authorities that would apply after Dec. 31, 2024.

The presenter did not specify whether pharmacies or supervising pharmacists would pursue other statutory or regulatory options to permit technicians to continue administering vaccines after the PREP Act authority ends, nor did the presenter identify any pending rulemaking, dates for further action, or agency affiliations in the recorded remarks.

Next steps were not stated during the segment; the presenter’s remarks were limited to the PREP Act expiration date and the clarification that technician vaccine administration under that federal authority ends on Dec. 31, 2024.