The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland Branch's Acting President, Chris Owen, has said that the Federal Government's failure to activate ALL Community Pharmacy locations already pre-approved through the Commonwealth's Expression of Interest (EOI) process as local COVID-19 vaccination hubs is putting Queenslanders at increased risk.
Mr. Owen said the Federal Government had only activated 49 Community Pharmacies out of the approximately 858 approved through the Federal Government's own EOI process more than four months ago in March 2021.
"More needs to be done to protect Queenslanders from the spread of COVID-19 and increase local vaccine access points. Over 800 more Community Pharmacies in Queensland are waiting to join the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to protect Queenslanders and stop these revolving lockdowns."
"The Community Pharmacy network across Queensland is without compare," said Mr. Owen, "the lack of action in allowing ALL Community Pharmacies to actively vaccinate smacks of bureaucratic mis-management and a bias towards other primary healthcare models".
"Not having ALL Community Pharmacies as local COVID-19 vaccination hubs puts Queenslanders at greater risk of transmission. Queenslanders are now having to endure further social and economic despair due to lockdowns."
"Including 49 pharmacies in the rollout was a great first step," said Mr. Owen, "A further 101 Community Pharmacies in rural and remote parts of Queensland are yet to be fully onboarded in the rollout but a lot more needs to be done."
"The Queensland Government has recognised this and requested the Commonwealth activate all Community Pharmacies in Queensland. The Queensland Government clearly understands the value of Community Pharmacy - why doesn't Canberra?"
"The issue isn't about supply – the Commonwealth Government is considering sending 20 million AstraZeneca vaccines to the Pacific Islands," he said, "It's not good enough when we have over half the Australian population, including much of Queensland, is now in lockdown."
"Without all Community Pharmacies activated, the vaccine rollout plan is an eight-cylinder car running on two cylinders," said Chris Owen.
"Pharmacists in the United Kingdom have administered over 5 million COVID-19 vaccines and in the United States its over 90 million."
"As we find ourselves going into another lockdown, the time for action is now, not in a few weeks or months but now. Let's get ready now for the surge in vaccines and get people vaccinated through all available primary healthcare immunisers, including community pharmacies, sooner rather than later."
"Community pharmacies are highly accessible with 97% of consumers in capital cities and 65% in regional areas living within 2.5km of a pharmacy. Pharmacies are also the most frequently visited primary healthcare destinations, and staff are well placed for significant interactions with members of the public," said Mr. Owen.
"The rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is the most critical health initiative in our generation, and community pharmacies are ready and willing to deliver for their fellow Queenslanders."
