Pharmacy Daily | NSW needs NIP access

NSW needs to join Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT in giving pharmacists approval to administer vaccinations through the National Immunisation Program (NIP) the Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes.

Guild NSW Branch President, David Heffernan, told The St George and Sutherland Shire Leader, that with the ongoing COVID-19 crisis it was more important than ever to boost access to influenza vaccination services.

"NSW needs to catch up with Victoria, Western Australia and the ACT to empower pharmacists to administer vaccines through the taxpayer subsidised NIP," he said.

"The NIP means older Australians, and other vulnerable groups can get their flu vaccine from the healthcare professional of their choice and in their local community pharmacy if they want to.

"Unfortunately, unlike those elsewhere, over-65s in NSW aren't allowed to choose which healthcare provider they want to receive their NIP flu vaccine from.

"Under the taxpayer-subsidised NIP, people in NSW should get the same choice as those in other states."

Heffernan's appeal for pharmacists to have access to the NIP was backed by researchers from the University of Technology Sydney, who reported that a number of patients have paid to receive vaccinations in the community pharmacy setting rather than going to a GP even though they were subsidised, in an article published in Pharmacy Practice.

"The fact that some consumers [who are eligible for NIP vaccines] are willing to pay for a service... underpins the need to have these vaccinations easily accessible to ensure greater uptake through all community pharmacies," they said.