COMMUNITY pharmacists delivered the first doses of COVID-19 on site to students at St Monica's College in Cairns, Queensland this week, as part of the Far North Queensland (FNQ) COVID-19 School Vaccination Program.
Similar to other school-based vaccine programs, the scheme will deliver "thousands of Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to students across FNQ in the coming months," according to Pharmacy Guild National President Trent Twomey, who took part in the launch.
Also at the event (pictured) were local Member for Leichhardt, Warren Entsch and Chair of the North Queensland Primary Health Network, Nick Loukas.
Twomey said there had been strong levels of registrations for the program, and hinted that a successful rollout could see it replicated in other regions.
"Community pharmacists are one of the most trusted professions and clearly there is great confidence in the Moderna vaccine and the primary health care professionals administering it," he said.
'It is exciting for Queensland schools to be at the tip of the spear in the fight against COVID-19, and if we see continued strong appetite for this program, we would love to see it replicated in other states and territories in the future."
He also endorsed legislative changes allowing community pharmacists to expand their services to onsite school vaccination clinics, with such an initiative likely to bring protection to an age group that can be particularly hard to reach.
"Providing greater access to vaccination services for young Australians has been a focus area for community pharmacies...this innovative program empowers community pharmacists to deliver world-class primary health care to school-aged patients in a safe and accessible way," Twomey enthused.
The program was developed by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch, and is supported by the Queensland Department of Health.
As with other programs for children, parental or guardian approval for the scheme was captured in advance, while health assessments were also undertaken for participating students to give both the vaccinator and their patient the assurances required for vaccination to proceed.
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