Pharmacy Daily | First Nations and Pfizer team up on COVID

PFIZER Australia has launched a groundbreaking health awareness campaign developed in collaboration with First Nations communities, to improve access to COVID treatments.

Data shows that First Nations communities continue to face more severe COVID outcomes than the general population.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are 60% more likely to die from COVID than non-Indigenous people, and older First Nations people are 25% less likely to access antivirals compared to the national average.

The initiative is spearheaded by leading ENT surgeon Professor Kelvin Kong, a Worimi man, alongside local Aboriginal Health Workers and community health leaders, and is one of the first such collaborations addressing COVID treatment awareness.

"This campaign is about protecting our mob and making sure our people know there are medicines that can help if COVID hits," Professor Kong said.

"It is crucial that our communities understand these treatments need to be taken early, being proactive, which means getting tested as soon as symptoms appear and having a yarn with your healthcare worker about your options."

Pfizer said that pharmacists have a key role to play in the campaign, and is encouraging them to order the posters and patient leaflets to use in conversations with First Nations patients.

"As in previous years, we're starting to experience a wave of COVID infections in the lead up to the holiday season," said Dr Krishan Thiru, Medical Director at Pfizer Australia and New Zealand.

"We are encouraging pharmacists who work in First Nations communities to utilise these resources, which we developed following advice from our Reconciliation Action Plan advisors and created in consultation with our Steering Committee, whose members were selected for their experience and insight into Indigenous health.

"These resources are designed to help pharmacists and other healthcare professionals start a conversation about oral antiviral treatments, where indicated, to help reduce severe illness and hospitalisation from COVID infection in First Nations people."

The resources include a link to two videos featuring Professor Kong and are developed specifically for healthcare professionals and consumers.

Order resources HERE. KB