FIP Guidance on COVID-19
This guidance is based on the available evidence and the recommendations of reputable organisations such as the World Health Organization, the United States and the European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and others, at the time of publishing. Knowledge on COVID-19 is rapidly changing and recommendations may change accordingly. Although FIP will strive to keep these guidelines up to date, we recommend consulting the websites of these organisations and any newly available evidence for the most recent updates. Our guidance is divided into four sections. Guidance specifically for community, hospital and clinical biology sectors can be found in Section 2 “Guidelines for pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce”. The guidance is supplemented with summaries.
1. Clinical information and treatment guidelines
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2. Guidelines for pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce
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3. Frequently asked questions and myth busting
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4. COVID-19 Additional resources
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*FIP is collaborating with its member organisations and other partners to make its guidance available in different languages, for maximal dissemination and use. We will notify our networks social media as translations are released.
FIP Guidance Summaries
COVID-19 transmission and incubation
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Community pharmacy interventions and patient counselling
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Pharmacy operations and facilities: ensuring safety for all and continuity of service
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Community pharmacy contingency plans
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Patient isolation and referral
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Cleaning and disinfection management
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Treatment guidelines and medicines to be stocked
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Notice to community pharmacy patients and customers
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Other FIP resources
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FIP call to action to support pharmacists and pharmacy workers on the coronavirus/COVID-19 frontline
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- FIP statement of principle: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health equity, and vulnerable patients and populations (MAY, 2020)
- FIP AIM Special Focus: Experiential Learning During Pandemic – Best Practices from FIP AIM Members (MAY, 2020)
- FIP Holding Statement on COVID-19 testing and treatment with hydroxychloroquine/chloroquine (APRIL, 2020)
- World Health Professions Alliance: Call for immediate G20 action to secure personal protective equipment for health personnel (APRIL, 2020)
- Academic Pharmacy Section: How academics manage the disruption in education in order to “Stay home, stay safe, and stay educated” (APRIL, 2020)
- FIP Position Statement on the association between the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines (including ibuprofen), ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and corticosteroids, and an increased risk of coronavirus/COVID-19 infection or disease severity. (MARCH, 2020)
- FIP Young Pharmacists Group: COVID-19: What You Need to Know (FEBRUARY, 2020)
- "Pharmacy Practice in Response to Natural Disasters: Legislation, Challenges and Lessons Learned" (Download the PowerPoint slides here.)
Resources from FIP members and others*
*Please note that this sharing of guidance and examples from our member organisations and others is not an endorsement of these materials and we can take no responsibility for their accuracy or their being up-to-date.
Argentina
Pharmaceutical Confederation of Argentina: "Protocolo COFA de actuación en la farmacia comunitaria ante la pandemia de coronavirus"
Asia
Federation of Asian Pharmaceutical Associations:
- Preparing community pharmacies for the COVID-19 pandemic
- COVID-19 Infection Control and Prevention Strategies for Health-System Pharmacists and Pharmacy Departments
Australia
Pharmaceutical Society of Australia:
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) information for pharmacists
- How the COVID-19 Home Medicines Service works
Pharmacy Guild of Australia: Information and guidance for community pharmacies in Australia
University of Melbourne: The lessons from past pandemics
Austria
Austrian Pharmacists Chamber: "Measures taken in the wake of the corona crisis concerning community pharmacies in Austria"
Brazil
Brazilian Federal Council of Pharmacy:
- "Plano de resposta para a farmácias privadas e públicas da Atenção Primária"
- "Padronização de acessórios para medida de temperatura"
- "Definição de caso suspeito, caso provável, caso confirmado, caso descartado, caso excluído, caso descartado, caso curado, contato próximo e contato domiciliar"
- "Equipamentos de Proteção Individual"
- "Delineamento de cuidado farmacêutico para farmácias comunitárias"
Canada
Canadian Pharmacists Association:
- Suggested Best Practices for Pharmacies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Daily COVID-19 information for pharmacists
China
Chinese Pharmaceutical Association:
- Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak prevention and control: Guidance and management strategies for pharmacists and the pharmacy workforce Chinese English
- Expert consensus to guide the prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic for retail pharmacy staff Chinese English
- Hospital pharmacy professional committee expert consensus on rational drug use in clinical practice for COVID-19 Chinese English
China Taiwan
Taiwan Society of Health-System Pharmacists: Community Pharmacists in Taiwan at the Frontline Against the Novel Coronavirus Pandemic: Gatekeepers for the Rationing of Personal Protective Equipment"
Costa Rica
College of Pharmacists of Costa Rica:
- "Recomendaciones para ir a la farmacia"
- "Recomendaciones para la prestacion de servicios farmaceuticos"
- "Guía actuación profesional farmacia frente pandemia COVID-19"
- "Recursos ColFar Pandemia COVID-19"
Ecuador
Europe
European Association of Hospital Pharmacists: COVID-19 Resource Centre
Pharmaceutical Group of European Union: COVID-19 Information Hub
France
French Chamber of Pharmacists:
COVID-19 Information for pharmacists
The International Conference of French-speaking Chambers of Pharmacists (CIOPF):
COVID-19 News, resources and information
Germany
Federal Union of German Associations of Pharmacists:
Greece
Ministry of Health Greece: Instructions for protection against respiratory infection from the new coronavirus
Panhellenic Association of Pharmacists (PEPharm): COVID-19
National Pubic Health Organization: New Covid-19 corona - Instructions
Italy
Federfarma
- "Protocollo informatico"
- "Coronavirus: indicazioni utili"
- "Croce Rossa e Federfarma insieme per intensificare consegna farmaci a domicilio a favore delle persone vulnerabili"
- "Cossolo al Tg5: 'Barriere in plexiglass e servizio a battenti chiusi per garantire la sicurezza dei colleghi'"
Malaysia
"COVID-19 pandemic guidance document for Malaysian pharmacists" English Malaysian
Nepal
Nepal Pharmaceutical Association: COVID-19 Guideline for pharmacists and pharmacy assistant
Pakistan
COVID-19. Ten steps guidance for pharmacy teams. English Arabic.
Philippines
Philippine Pharmacists Association: Community Pharmacy Guide COVID-19 Preparedness
Portugal
Actions against COVID (Portuguese Pharmaceutical SocietyPortuguese Pharmaceutical Society and National Association of Pharmacies of Portugal)
Portuguese Pharmaceutical Society:
National Association of Pharmacies of Portugal:
"Boas Practicas e estrategias a adopter pelas farmacias"
ANF Thank you pharmacies video
APFH - Associação Portuguesa de Farmacêuticos Hospitalares
Hospital pharmacy recommendations
Spain
General Pharmaceutical Council of Spain:
Uganda
Proposal on sustainable hand hygiene in low- and middle-income countries
United Kingdom
Royal Pharmaceutical Society:
UK Government: How tests and testing kits for coronavirus (COVID-19) work
Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency: Coronavirus (COVID-19): guidance and support
United Nations
UNESCO: COVID-19 Educational Disruption and Response
WHO:
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic
- Rolling updates on coronavirus
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports
- Research and development
- Clinical trials platform
- Emergency Use Listing Procedure (EUL) open for in vitro diagnostics
- R&D Blueprint was activated to accelerate diagnostics, vaccines and therapeutics for this novel coronavirus
- Advice on the use of masks in the context of COVID-19
- EPI-WIN: Vulnerable populations"
- "Strengthening the Health Systems Response to COVID-19. Technical guidance #4. Community Pharmacy
- EPI-WIN: Re-opening schools
- COVID-19 Information tools on new apps: The WHO Academy app is designed to support health workers during COVID-19, and the WHO Info app designed to inform the general public. The application is available for free download from both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store in Arabic Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
- Question & Answer - COVID-19 and WHO PQT Inspections
- WHO Guidance for SARS-COV2 COVID-19 treatment - medicines
- Certification scheme on the quality of pharmaceutical products moving in international commerce: special measures during pandemic Update: Use of e-signature for Certificates using the WHO Certification Schemes
Uruguay
Association of Chemistry and Pharmacy:
USA
American Pharmacists Association: "COVID-19 Practice Resources"
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists: "Assessment of Evidence for COVID-19-Related Treatments"
National Academy of Medicine: Coronavirus resources
National Institutes of Health: COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines
University of Colorado, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences & Colorado Pharmacists Society: "COVID-19: Implications for Pharmacists" (PowerPoint slides)
United States Pharmacopeia:
- Hand sanitizer toolkit to support pharmacies seeking to address hand sanitizer shortages.
- USP's COVID-19 Public Health Response
- Report from Trust CoLab: Trust or Consequences 2040: Will innovations in health and medicine deliver? USP and the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence.
- Pandemic Preparedness for Regulators in Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Questions from FIP members and member organisations
Articles & Other
- "Apothekers wereldwijd tonen professionaliteit" (Pharmacists worldwide demonstrate professionalism) Interview with Gonҫalo Sousa Pinto, FIP Lead for practice development and transformation, in Pharmaceutisch Weekblad (22 May 2020)
- IDstewardship: Compilation of coronavirus (COVID-19) resources for pharmacists (12 May 2020)
- COVID Reference book. Available in six languages. (30 April 2020)
- Pharmacists' response to and involvement in the novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic (30 April 2020)
- “Apotheker weltweit halten zusammen” (Pharmacists worldwide stand together). Interview with Gonҫalo Sousa Pinto, FIP Lead for practice development and transformation, in Pharmazeutische Zeitung. (16 April 2020)
- How South Korea solved its face mask shortage (1 April 2020)
- Keep Calm and Wash Your Hands: Locked Up In Lockdown in the UK (31 March 2020)
- Survey summary: Industry response to COVID19 (26 March 2020)
- Kaya open access e-learning platform for humanitarians
- List of COVID-19 vaccine candidates
FIP COVID-19 Timeline
In memoriam
Pharmacy teams are risking their lives to continue to provide health care to their communities and support our health systems during this coronavirus pandemic. Inevitably, deaths of colleagues from COVID-19 are being reported to FIP from around the world. With this list, we would like to make sure that none of these colleagues are forgotten.
Adriana Alia Gómez (Spain)
Camillo Alinovi (Italy)
Oscar J. Álvarez Rodríguez (Spain)
Teresa Baca Cruces (Spain)
Jayesh Bhanubhai Patel (UK)
Reanna Casalini (Italy)
Florentina Cimiano Valera (Spain)
Raffaele Corbellini (Italy)
María del Carmen Cuadrado (Spain)
Paolo D’Ambrogi (Italy)
Francesco De Donno (Italy)
Santiago Díez García (Spain)
İsmail Durmuş (Turkey)
Patrizio Forti Paolini (Italy)
Amparo Gadea (Spain)
Pedro García (Spain)
İhsan Giray (Turkey)
Julio Gutiérrez Montalvo (Spain)
Himmet Taştan Kardaşlar (Turkey)
José Tomás Mijimolle (Spain)
Fernando Marcantonio (Italy)
Ekrem Özdemir (Pharmacy technician, Turkey)
Mehool Patel (UK)
Hilario Pellín (Spain)
Antonio Perani (Italy)
Nieves Quiralte Abello (Spain)
Michel Renson (Belgium)
Lorenzo Repetto (Italy)
Daniela Rigoni (Italy)
Manuel Ruiz (Spain)
Francisco Javier Santamaría Blanco (Spain)
Pooja Sharma (Hospital pharmacist, UK)
Mandy Sifforn (Community pharmacy technician, UK)
Süreyya Sıpkınkurt (Turkey)
Yingjie Song (China)
Antonio Tilli (Italy)
Merih Yalçınöz (Turkey)
Jermaine Wright (UK)
Luis (surname withheld) (Spain)
Pharmacist (name withheld) (Spain)