The Pharmacy Guild of Australia has welcomed the announcement today that the NSW Government will lower the age pharmacists can administer flu jabs to children from 16 years to 10 years.
The President of the NSW Branch of the Pharmacy Guild, David Heffernan, welcomed the move, saying it was a positive and timely step ahead of what threatened to be another bad season for influenza.
By allowing pharmacists to administer privately purchased flu vaccines to people aged 10 years and over, families will have more choice when seeking a flu vaccination.
"This beneficial change will allow trained pharmacist vaccinators to make an even bigger contribution to herd immunity in NSW. It also brings NSW into line with other jurisdictions that have taken this step.
"We thank the Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, and the NSW Government for this timely move," he said.
"We also continue to urge the inclusion of community pharmacies in the distribution of the National Immunisation Program (NIP) vaccines for at-risk patients," Mr Heffernan said.
