In Japan, the revised Immunization Law was enacted in December 2020, and municipalities have promoted a free vaccination project against COVID-19 with the aid of upper prefectural governments under the management of the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare. To support prompt vaccination for residents over 65 years old, Kawachinagano City Pharmaceutical Association supplied a Prevaccination Screening Questionnaire to all pharmacies in Kawachinagano in cooperation with the local governments and medical associations. We conducted a questionnaire survey on the handling of questionnaire forms at pharmacies and the content of consultation by residents regarding vaccination, and investigated the significance of community pharmacy in regional medical activities by analyzing the responses. By the end of May 2021, the number of questionnaire forms provided to residents from pharmacies of the Kawachinagano City Pharmaceutical Association was approximately 3,000, which was attributable to the efforts of each pharmacist in almost all pharmacies to individually offer sincere consultation services to residents. In addition, residents were markedly concerned about pharmacotherapy, with the frequency of consultation by residents being higher about “treatment details, including drug use” and “adverse reactions of the vaccine.” Our study revealed that community pharmacies of the Kawachinagano City Pharmaceutical Association largely contributed to the smooth implementation of vaccination by performing routine work originally dealt to the local governments and medical institutions, which strongly suggests that community pharmacies fulfill their mission corresponding to social needs even during a pandemic.

Given that the long head of the biceps femoris (BFlh), semitendinosus (ST), and semimembranosus (SM) have hip adduction moment arm, this study aimed to clarify the influence of hip abduction angle on their shear modulus, measured by using shear wave elastography, to determine an effective stretching position where these muscles are more elongated and demonstrate higher passive tension. Twelve healthy young men participated in the study. The shear modulus of BFlh, ST, and SM at the middle point was measured using shear wave elastography. The shear modulus was measured at hip abduction angles of 0°, 15°, 30°, and 45°, with the hip and knee joint held at 70° and 0° flexion, respectively. The effects of hip abduction angle on the muscle shear modulus were analyzed using a Friedman test, followed by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Benjamini-Hochberg procedure for post-hoc analysis. Effect sizes were calculated using r. Significant differences in shear modulus were found between hip abduction angles for all muscles (p < 0.05). Post-hoc analysis showed that the shear modulus of the SM at 45° was significantly higher compared to 0° (p < 0.05, r = 0.62) and 15° (p < 0.05, r = 0.54). For ST, the shear modulus at 45° was significantly higher compared to 0° (p < 0.05, r = 0.58). The shear modulus in BFlh at 15° was higher than 0° (p < 0.05, r = 0.53). Adding to hip abduction in a position of hip flexion and knee extension increases the shear modulus of the medial hamstrings, particularly the SM.