ALL 3,930 community pharmacies across Australia deemed suitable to become COVID-19 vaccination (COVAX) sites will be able to request access to vaccine stock from Mon, with the Federal Government hitting the accelerator on its stalled immunisation campaign.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's announcement that pharmacies will be able to access supplies of the AstraZeneca vaccine yesterday, has been welcomed by both the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA).
Guild National President, Trent Twomey, said the decision would be "great news for communities across Australia", noting modelling showed it would "speed up the national vaccination strategy by several months".
"To date a handful of pharmacies in regional, rural and remote areas have been able to provide COVAX to patients," he said.
"But [this] announcement means patients across all of Australia will soon be able to access their COVAX through their community pharmacy which is the most accessible health destination and often provides extended operating hours and access at weekends.
"These pharmacies are fully indemnified by the Government and informed consent protocols will be followed for patients."
The decision to activate all approved community pharmacies will reduce the reliance on state-run mass vaccination hubs and make it easier for patients to access vaccines, PSA National President, Associate Professor Chris Freeman, said.
"This is the patient-centric approach that Australia has been waiting for -- and will expedite completion of the rollout," he said.
"As we've seen in countries [such as] the UK and the United States, utilisation of local pharmacist immunisers has allowed them to reach their respective vaccination targets on schedule.
"The Federal Government's indemnity scheme already covers pharmacists administering COVID-19 and they are fully equipped with the knowledge and resources to effectively deliver the vaccine to their communities.
"Pharmacists will be able to target those at-risk Australians, particularly the elderly, who remain unvaccinated -- negating the need to queue at mass vaccination hubs for extended periods of time.
"Seeing that your local pharmacist is now offering vaccinations will normalise the vaccine itself and will help combat both hesitancy and complacency."
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