HEALTH Minister Greg Hunt this morning confirmed that community pharmacies will be able to administer COVID-19 vaccinations, with 56 sites in Queensland to be the first to deploy the inoculations.
However the full Stage Three rollout of pharmacy COVID-19 vaccinations will not take place until Sep at the earliest, but "more likely in Oct or Nov," Hunt told delegates at the APP2021 conference on the Gold Coast.
The Queensland rollout is being championed by Qld Minister for Health, Yvette D'Ath, who has been focused on ensuring that the state's regional and remote communities have access to COVID-19 vaccines via community pharmacies.
Qld Guild Acting President, Chris Owen, congratulated Hunt and D'Ath for "ensuring that Australians have access to the COVID-19 vaccination as quickly as possible".
Hunt said the proposal followed a National Cabinet decision last month which agreed that states and territories can choose to incorporate community pharmacies into their rollout plans in areas where there are "no or limited other points of presence".
However "as additional vaccine supply is delivered over the coming months, additional community pharmacies will be brought on line to support an enhanced primary care rollout to ensure the broadest possible coverage for the community," Minister Hunt said.
Hunt promised that "community pharmacy will play an important role in the ramp-up of the COVID-19 vaccine in the second half of the year," with State and Territory talks under way for "additional engagement of general practices and community pharmacies".
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