NSW Cannot Open Until Pharmacists Can Vaccinate

NSW cannot open until pharmacists can vaccinate, according to the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA).

 

Today, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said that NSW cannot live with the Delta variant
unless a certain proportion of the population are vaccinated, however, she continues to sideline the almost 5,000 pharmacist vaccinator workforce in NSW.

 

PSA NSW Branch President, Chelsea Felkai, says there is no explanation from the NSW
Government as to why pharmacist involvement in the rollout is still incredibly limited.

 

“Last week, Premier Berejiklian announced that only 22 community pharmacies across the state will commence vaccinating patients with the AstraZeneca vaccine from mid-July.

 

“We have almost 5,000 skilled, trusted and experienced pharmacist vaccinators across NSW,
and the Government has refused to tell us why they are not being utilised.

 

“The announcement last week of a positive case at one of the vaccination hubs reaffirms the
importance of accessing these vaccines within your local community, whether that be through
your local GP or pharmacist.

 

“At a time when we are also encouraging NSW residents to stay local, local pharmacists are the obvious choice.

 

“Now, Premier Berejiklian says we cannot live with the delta variant unless a certain proportion of the population are vaccinated. We know there is no shortage of AstraZeneca. We need to make it as easy and convenient as possible for Australians to get vaccinated.

 

“Pharmacist vaccinators could also be much more widely utilised in vaccination hubs, aged care, and other settings. Our nursing colleagues have been doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of workforce surge, and we don’t want to see them burn out. We need to utilise our full vaccinator workforce, including local pharmacists.”

 

The Federal Government’s indemnity scheme already covers pharmacists administering COVID19 and PSA is dedicated to supporting pharmacists in delivering the COVID-19 vaccine both safely and effectively to the public, and pharmacists are on standby to support the strategy.

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Media contact: PSA media 0424 777 463