Pharmacy Daily | No logical reason for NIP restrictions

PHARMACIES across Australia should have access to National Immunisation Program vaccines, as a health priority, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes.

Currently pharmacists in Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT can administer Government-funded vaccines to eligible patients, with the Guild urging State and Territory Governments in the Northern Territory, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania to implement legislation expanding NIP access to pharmacists immediately.

Guild National President, Trent Twomey, said there was no logical reason for the States and the NT to be lagging behind in giving pharmacists access to NIP vaccines.

"The effectiveness of NIP vaccine access to pharmacists in Victoria, WA and ACT shows just how successful, and acceptable to patients, the program is," he said.

"Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals, and pharmacies are open extended hours, so it is essential that we utilise these factors in making access to vaccines easier for eligible NIP patients."

Guild ACT Branch President, Simon Blacker, said the expansion of the NIP to pharmacists across the country was a "commonsense move" to help reduce the spread of life-threatening diseases including influenza.

"People 65 years and older are at high risk of developing serious complications from flu compared with young, healthy adults, partly because the human immune defences become weaker with increasing age, so its strongly recommended that all adults over 65 years have a flu shot," he said.

"It's important that the community has the greatest possible access and opportunity to the NIP influenza vaccine and given that most Australians live within a couple of kilometres of a pharmacy, it makes sense to extend full access to the NIP to all pharmacies."

The Guild noted that a number of pharmacies had reported that patients who were eligible for NIP vaccines had opted to pay at the pharmacy because it was easier and more convient.

The organisation added that many of these patients were unaware that they were eligible to receive free vaccines, until their pharmacist mentioned it to them.