Pharmacists call for more vaccine support
Andrew Brown |
The pharmacy peak body has urged the federal government for greater financial support to keep the COVID-19 vaccination program on track.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia said it remained concerned by pay disparity between pharmacists and GPs to give the vaccine.
It comes as the rollout began on Thursday for the Moderna vaccine for children aged between six and 11-years-old.
The society’s national president Chris Freeman said the remuneration for pharmacists to hand out the vaccine to patients was inadequate.
“Whilst increased vaccine choice and further expansion to eligibility are positive moves, it results in increased pressure on primary health, especially for Australia’s pharmacists,” he said.
“These changes signify progress in the fight against COVID-19, but under the surface, the inequality in pharmacists’ remuneration for administering these vaccines continues to jeopardise the program’s viability.”
According to the society, more than six million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered at pharmacies across the country.
Associate Professor Freeman said the lower payments given to pharmacies to deliver the vaccine compared to locations such as GPs meant fewer pharmacies would provide immunisations to patients.
“This is critical to keeping the vaccine rollout program on track, particularly in relation to childhood vaccines, where they have reverted back very low payments for pharmacists,” he said.
“How much longer is it going to take them to recognise just now nonsensical is this?”
Thursday marked the start of the Moderna vaccine rollout for children, the second COVID-19 vaccine approved in Australia for children under 12.
Australia was the first country in the world to formally approve Moderna for children between six and 11-years-old.
While the vaccination rate for those under 12 is about 50 per cent, health authorities said the new vaccine would help to increase that rate even further.
Each Moderna vaccine will be half the adult dose and children will need two doses spaced eight weeks apart.
A second dose can be given as early as four weeks from the first in certain circumstances, such as if a child is immunocompromised.
The Pfizer vaccine is already available to children aged five to 11 and nearly half of the age group has already had one dose since January when they became eligible.
It comes as a further 39 deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Thursday.
Of those, 16 were in Victoria, 12 were in NSW, eight were in Queensland and three were in South Australia.
Western Australia recorded another large day of infections with 617 reported, just a week out from the reopening of its hard border with the rest of the country.
Nationally, more than 23,000 COVID-19 infections have been recorded in the past reporting period.
AAP
