SEVERAL community pharmacies in regional and rural NSW are starting to receive their first allocations of COVID-19 vaccines (COVAX), with Capital Chemist Braidwood administering initial shots today.
The pharmacy, which is part of a 22-store trial program, is set to be joined by hundreds more in the coming weeks as NSW grapples with its latest COVID outbreak.
Speaking with Pharmacy Daily, Capital Chemist Braidwood Managing Partner, Kayla Lee, said the pharmacy had a full day of bookings scheduled for today.
"We've had really high demand," she said.
"Then with the amendment to be able to vaccinate those over 40 [and not just the over 60s as originally planned] we've had even more demand from that age group as well, which is really good."
The Braidwood pharmacy received 300 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Wed, with Lee noting the store will be able make weekly orders of a minimum quantity of 100 doses going forward.
"At the rate that we've got them booked in at the moment, we'll probably be looking at doing another order in about a fortnight," she said.
"Then it takes a week or two to arrive, so we're anticipating this lot will last us about a month, but we'll see how demand goes."
With pressure growing to boost vaccination services in Sydney's COVID hotspot areas of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, Trent Twomey, expects at least 70 local pharmacies to join the COVAX rollout campaign by the end of next week, the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) reported.
"We think this will make a huge difference, and our hope is that pharmacies across the country will be able to eventually offer a number of different COVID-19 vaccines, including Pfizer, for all patients," Twomey said.
A further 365 pharmacies in the Greater Sydney area are due to commence COVAX services within the next month, with the Guild's Find A Pharmacy website listing stores in the city's Woolloomooloo and St Ives areas as offering shots.
However, McDonalds Pharmacy St Ives owner, Jacinta McDonald, told Pharmacy Daily that the North Shore pharmacy is not due to receive vaccines until 16 Aug.
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