Pharmacy Daily | Funded COVAX a first for pharmacy

COMMUNITY pharmacies will receive up to $48 per patient for administering COVID-19 vaccines (COVAX) as part of the national immunisation strategy, depending on where the store is located.

Under a funding model agreed upon by the Federal Government and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, pharmacies based in metropolitan areas will be eligible for payments of $16 for the initial dose, and $26 if they also administer the second dose, while pharmacies in zones classified as a Modified Monash Model two (MMM2) or higher, will receive $19 for the first dose and $29 for the second.

Meanwhile GPs in MMM1 locations will receive $55 for administering two doses of the vaccines to patients, with those in MMM2-7 zones earning $64.90, with all practices will be eligible to claim an additional $10 Practice Incentive Payment.

In a post on the Rural Pharmacy Network Australia (RPNA) Facebook page, Queensland Guild Branch President, Trent Twomey, noted that the funding was "lower than GP's, and lower than what we wanted, but [it's the] first paid pharmacist vax service in Australia".

"Three weeks ago, pharmacy wasn't even mentioned in the road map," he said.

Details of the expression of interest (EOI) requirements are set to be released today by the Pharmacy Programs Administrator, with new Tasmanian Guild Branch President, Helen O'Bryne, noting that "community pharmacies will be required to demonstrate strict compliance to very high standards... as well as ensuring that they can continue to provide their regular important medication dispensing services in their communities".

However, concerns have been raised about the viability of pharmacy-based vaccine services in single pharmacist stores, with one member of the RPNA group reporting that during the height of the COVID-19 crisis she had to shut her shop to all other services to administer influenza vaccines, as the local "surgery wasn't open at the time" and the "whole process was run at a loss".

Another pharmacist in a single pharmacist store said they had completed a vaccination course two years ago, but had not administered a vaccine since, noting "[it's] not a viable proposition in a single pharmacist pharmacy".