Community pharmacies around Australia are being invited to join the nation-wide effort to administer the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine.
Minister for Health, Greg Hunt said an expression of interest (EOI) process had commenced this week (1 February) for pharmacies to participate in the Community Pharmacy COVID‑19 Vaccination Program.
Mr Hunt said the Program would immunise priority populations from Phase 2a (expected to begin in May) onwards of the vaccination rollout strategy.
“Community pharmacy will be an important partner in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines,” Mr Hunt said.
“Utilising the existing network of thousands of community pharmacies will ensure the general population have broader access to COVID-19 vaccinations, provide choice in where the community receive a vaccine, and address barriers to access some parts of rural and regional Australia,” he said.
“Participation in the program will be voluntary and pharmacies will need to demonstrate they meet the highest safety standards and have capacity and capability to deliver COVID-19 vaccines, as well as ensuring they continue to provide important services to their local communities.”
Mr Hunt said the safety standards were informed by the expert medical advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
He said this was the first time a national pharmacy vaccination program is to be rolled out funded by the Commonwealth.
“All health professionals involved in the vaccination program will have undertaken specialised training, which is currently in development,” he said.
Mr Hunt said many of Australia’s pharmacies were already critical in the delivery of seasonal influenza vaccines and their efforts to support the Program would be important to ensure wide accessibility and take up of the COVID-19 vaccine.
