VICTORIA is the third Australian state to grant pharmacists approval to administer flu vaccinations to children as young as 10 years old.
The decision announced yesterday follows similar moves by the Tasmanian (PD 20 May) and Western Australian (PD 20 Jun) Governments earlier this year.
Both the Pharmacy Guild of Australia and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) have welcomed the announcement, with a Guild spokesperson telling Pharmacy Daily, "it's a positive step towards harmonisation".
Guild Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, said the decision to lower the age limit from 16 and over to 10, would help broaden public access to evidence-based vaccinations and increase uptake.
"This is a welcome advance in public health - lowering the minimum age of pharmacist-administered flu vaccinations will undoubtedly improve access and save more lives," he said.
"Pharmacist immunisers will be able to implement this change without any difficulty because they already receive the same training as other immunisers.
"There is more work to be done so that Victorians have the opportunity to be vaccinated against the full range of conditions that pharmacist immunisers in our state have been asked to undertake training in."
With more than 61,500 laboratory confirmed cases of the flu in Victoria to date this year, PSA Victorian Branch President, Ben Merchant, said the state's Health and Ambulance Minister, Jenny Mikakos', decision was "particularly important".
"Research had shown internationally and locally that pharmacists are considered highly accessible," he said.
"87% of Victorians live within 2.5km of a pharmacy, which are generally open longer hours than other primary health services.
"This change will enable more people, including families, to access influenza vaccination, and build immunity within the Victorian community."
Mikakos said the decision would provide a new option for parents seeking to protect their children from the flu and called on the community to "never listen to anyone peddling lies and misinformation about vaccinations".
"The science is crystal clear - they're safe, effective and they save lives," she said.
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