Wagga pharmacy still in the dark over COVID-19 vaccine rollout plan

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced yesterday that the government would use "the existing network of thousands of community pharmacies" to ensure access to COVID-19 vaccinations in rural and regional Australia.

Wagga Cincotta Chemist owner Mustafa Al Shakarji said getting influenza shots at pharmacies had been a popular option for the city's residents but he could not confirm his business would take part in the COVID-19 vaccine at this stage.

"The most important thing for any vaccinating pharmacist is that we need to know how much of the product we are going to get, because most likely the patients and customers will be asking for it so we need an estimate for how many vaccinations we will need in the pharmacy," he said.

"Number two is that we need to be better equipped in terms of knowing more about the vaccination and its side-effect profile.

"At the moment we don't know much about the side effects and we don't know, if something happens, how to properly treat it."

The Therapeutic Goods Administration has determined that the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine "meets the high safety, efficacy and quality standards required for use in Australia" but is still evaluating the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine option.

Sunday shoppers in Wagga who spoke to The Daily Advertiser said the pharmacy announcement would not make much difference on their decision to get vaccinated for COVID-19 or not.

Pat Walker, from Wagga, said she would likely be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine regardless of how it was distributed because of her workplace's policies, but she might get it at a pharmacy.

"When we get the flu shots, we usually all get them from the same chemist," she said.

Ricky Johnson, from Hay, said he did not plan to get vaccinated at all "because the virus has not affected me".

Mr Hunt said pharmacists' participation "will be voluntary" and they would need to "demonstrate they meet the highest safety standards" while continuing to provide normal services.

Riverina MP Michael McCormack said the government was "backing pharmacies to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine as we expand the rollout for communities all across our nation"

"Local pharmacies are a key part in delivering health services to regional and remote Australians," he said.

The pharmacy program aims to immunise "priority populations" from May onward as part of the COVID-19 vaccination rollout strategy.