Background: Pharmacists serve on the frontline of healthcare provision for refugees. This study aimed to explore (1) Syrian refugees’ healthcare status from the perspectives of the refugees and Lebanese community pharmacists; (2) refugees’ barriers to healthcare access; and (3) the challenges pharmacists encounter in the provision of healthcare.   Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during July-August 2019 in Bekaa Region. Syrian refugees and Lebanese community pharmacists anonymously completed two different questionnaires. SPSS Statistics Version 22.0 was used to analyse the data.   Results: A total of 671 refugees and 103 pharmacists responded to the questionnaires. The responding refugees and pharmacists identified the inability to afford physician and drug fees as the primary and secondary barriers to healthcare access for refugees; while health illiteracy was the primary challenge identified by the responding pharmacists when providing care to refugees.     Conclusion: Addressing the determinants of health will reduce healthcare barriers and challenges substantially, thus fostering overall improvements in the health of Syrian refugees.

Vaccination is the most effective preventative strategy against influenza, yet university students’ influenza vaccination uptake remains low. This study aimed firstly to determine the percentage of university students who were vaccinated for the 2015–2016 influenza season and to identify reasons for non-vaccination, and secondly to examine the impact of external factors (on-campus/online influenza awareness campaigns and COVID-19 pandemic) on their influenza vaccination uptake and attitudes for the 2017–2018 and 2021–2022 influenza seasons. A descriptive study was conducted over three phases for three influenza seasons at a Lebanese university in the Bekaa Region. Based on data collected in 2015–2016, promotional activities were developed and implemented for the other influenza seasons. This study was conducted using an anonymous, self-administered questionnaire by students. The majority of the respondents in the three studies did not receive the influenza vaccine (89.2% in the 2015–2016 study, 87.3% in the 2017–2018 study, and 84.7% in the 2021–2022 study). Among the unvaccinated respondents, the main reason for non-vaccination was that they thought that they did not need it. The primary reason for vaccination among those who were vaccinated was that they believed they were at risk of catching influenza in a 2017–2018 study and due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2021–2022 study. As for attitudes towards influenza vaccination post-COVID-19, significant differences were shown among the vaccinated and unvaccinated respondents. The vaccination rates among university students remained low despite of the awareness campaigns and COVID-19 pandemic.