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Background: There is lack of both resources and expertise explains the limited extent to which pharmacoeconomic evidence is used in formulary decision-making., Objectives: The present study aims to assess attitude and perceptions toward the criteria used to select formulary drugs among UAE healthcare organizations., Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted amongst the licensed physicians in all specialties, all pharmacists and other healthcare professionals with a minimum of 3 month experience those registered with Ministry of health and prevention and those working in the private sector in the UAE. Participants are sent an email containing a validated web-based electronic link to access the questionnaire. The questionnaire composed of two sections is used to assess the healthcare professionals' attitude and perceptions regarding the criteria used to select formulary drugs. Data analysis were done using SPSS Version 24., Results: A total of 866 respondents participated in the study and completed the whole questionnaire. The average attitude score about the criteria used in drug formulary selection was 84.5% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [83.9%, 85.4%]. Of the total participants, 27 (3.1%) had poor attitude about the criteria used in drug formulary selection, 240 (27.7%) had moderate attitude and 599 (69.2%) had good attitude. The results of statistical modeling showed that education level, area of expertise and age were jointly highly associated with attitude about the criteria used in drug formulary selection., Conclusions: The study revealed that pharmacists and Healthcare professionals had a good attitude about the criteria used in drug formulary selection in the United Arab Emirates. This study purposed to provide Emirate pharmacy and therapeutics policy makers with a clear criterion of best practice related to methodological recommendations to help in increasing the utilization and implementation of pharmacoeconomic evidence in the drug formulary selection process., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: People with weakened immune systems may not develop adequate protection after taking two doses of the mRNA-combined COVID-19 vaccine. The additional dose may improve the level of protection against Covid-19., Objectives: Current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge, attitude and determents of third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose acceptance among population in the UAE., Methods and Materials: This is online descriptive cross-sectional community-based study conducted among the students and faculty of Ajman University from 25 August to 20 October 2021. The questionnaire, which was in the English language, encompassed two sections containing 22 items. Section one gathered the demographic details of the respondents, while Section two used 13 questions to evaluate the respondents' knowledge of and attitude to the third COVID-19 vaccine booster dose., Results: 614 respondents participated in this study. The average knowledge score was 44.6% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [41%, 49%]. Better knowledge scores were observed in postgraduates (OR 4.29; 95% CI 2.28-8.11), employees in the healthcare sector (OR 1.62; 95% CI 1.05-2.51), participants who had relatives infected with the Covid-19 (OR 1.46; 95% CI 1.05-2.02), participants who had infected with Covid-19 (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.43-3.43) and participants who had received first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (OR 2.08; 95% CI 1.40-3.11). The average attitude score was 70.2% with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of [69.2%, 71.2%]., Conclusion: Necessary steps should be taken by the government and public health authorities, in line with the local culture, to increase vaccination acceptance and foster positive attitudes towards the vaccine. A suitable approach to this would be to develop an educational framework that could demonstrate the risks of vaccine avoidance or delay to the general population. Moreover, health authorities should pay more attention to the false information being disseminated across the internet, especially social media. Also, healthcare workers should be trained in vaccinology and virology to make sure that they are able to understand important developments in these fields and convey the findings to their patients., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Since the WHO announced that Covid-19 had become a global pandemic, online pharmacies have emerged as an extremely popular way to purchase medication due to the quarantine measures introduced by numerous countries to prevent the virus's spread., Aim: The aim of this study was to collect information regarding the extent of online medication purchasing in the UAE and to assess the factors that motivating the purchase of medications from the internet., Method: A convenience sampling of people living in the UAE was used to conduct an online descriptive cross-sectional study. Respondents were solicited using the social media platforms WhatsApp and Facebook, whereby they were asked to fill in a validated web-based questionnaire. The number of people buying medications from online pharmacies was calculated using a percentage with 95% CIs., Results: 131 respondents (31.2%) [95% CI: 26.7-35.6] stated that they purchased medication via the Internet after Covid-19 was classed as a pandemic. It was found that those respondents most likely to have purchased medication via the Internet were male, single, and older and with a high school education., Conclusion: More research should be conducted to investigate and compare the self-medication and associated risk factors between online pharmacies and community pharmacies. Moreover, regulatory bodies need to make and implement changes to the regulations that govern the sale and use of medications during COVID-19.