WASHINGTON – The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) has announced the winners of the 2026 APhA Immunization Champion Awards. These awards honor outstanding individuals, pharmacy professionals, teams, and organizations that have significantly contributed to enhancing vaccination access, delivery, and public health outcomes nationwide.
The Immunization Champion Awards recognize the vital contributions of pharmacists, pharmacy teams, and their partners as trusted members of the immunization community—collaborating to increase vaccine access, boost confidence, and safeguard public health.
“The APhA Immunization Champion Awards allow us to spotlight the incredible impact pharmacists, pharmacy teams, and their partners have in advancing immunization efforts nationwide,” said Michael D. Hogue, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FFIP, executive vice president and CEO of APhA. “These honorees exemplify innovation, collaboration, and commitment to ensuring vaccines reach the patients and communities who need them most.”
2026 APhA Immunization Champion Award recipients
Corporate/Institution
- National winner: Elements Pharmacy, Studio City, CA
- Honorable mention: University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s Peter Lamy Center on Drug Therapy and Aging, Baltimore, MD
Pharmacy Team Member
- National winner: Chyanne Coe, Semmes, AL
- Honorable mention: Abby L. Bode, Cincinnati, OH
Friend of Pharmacy
- National winner: Helene McDowell, Madison, WI
- Honorable mention: Charlene A. Wong, Chapel Hill, NC
Individual Practitioner
- National winner: Alanna R. Scott, Florence, SC
- Honorable mention: Benjamin Prewitt, Cincinnati, OH
Outstanding Career Achievement
- National winner: Sandy (Jeong Yeon) Rhie, Seoul, South Korea
- Honorable mention: Robert Yagar, Long Beach, CA
Travel Health
- National winner: Raana Sidky, Eastvale, CA
Nominees were assessed based on their impact, collaboration, innovation, ability to overcome challenges, and creation of new opportunities to expand immunization services and boost vaccination rates.
Read more about award recipients here.
The 2026 APhA Immunization Champion Awards will be officially presented at the 2026 APhA Immunization Champion Award Reception to recognize the recipients.
The 2026 APhA Immunization Champion Awards program is supported by Pfizer, Merck, Moderna, and VaxServe, a Sanofi Company.
APhA launched the Immunization Champion Awards in 2008, with the first awards given in 2009, to honor the outstanding efforts of pharmacists and their partners in boosting vaccination rates across the country. Today, pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians administer millions of vaccinations annually, acting as accessible and trusted immunizers in their communities.
APhA praises the over 500,000 pharmacists, student pharmacists, and pharmacy technicians trained to give vaccines who are consistently making a measurable impact on public health.
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