Pharmacy Daily | Pharmacy staff still waiting for COVAX

COMMUNITY pharmacy workers need to be given priority access to COVID-19 vaccines (COVAX), to ensure stores can remain open in areas affected by outbreaks, Pharmacy Guild of Australia NSW Branch Vice President, Catherine Bronger, believes.

Speaking with Pharmacy Daily, Bronger, whose 24-hour Chemistworks pharmacy in Wetherill Park has had 10 positive cases come through the doors, called for pharmacy staff to be prioritised for vaccination alongside aged care workers.

"It's really hard for us to access the vaccines for the staff," she said.

"And if they expect us to keep the doors open and keep the staff safe they need to prioritise the vaccine - and the Pfizer vaccine specifically - for pharmacy staff like they have with aged care.

"They should be able to get in tomorrow for vaccination."

Adding an additional challenge to protecting staff, Bronger said there was an inconsistency in understanding that pharmacy assistants are healthcare workers on the frontline.

"I know it's written in [that] they're in 1B [of the rollout program], but there's a lack of understanding in the system and a lack of messaging to them," she said.

"Then once it all blew up it was impossible to get in [for a vaccine]."

Bronger added that the delay in activating community pharmacies as vaccine sites exacerbated the issue, with eligible staff expecting to have their shot in-store.

"Because we got approved back in Mar a lot of the workforce just expected a common sense approach from the Government to roll out the vaccines to community pharmacies as soon as we were approved," she said.

Capital Chemist Braidwood Managing Partner, Kayla Lee, who started administering doses of the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine this morning, also said it was challenging getting staff immunised, with many of her team under 40 years, and ineligible to get the AZ shot.

Lee told Pharmacy Daily that team members had tried to access appointments to get the Pfizer vaccine through NSW Health sources, but had been unsuccessful.

"Luckily one of our doctors' surgeries has started administering Pfizer from Sat, so all the staff are getting vaccinated on Sat, which is good," she said.