Community pharmacies around Australia are being invited to join the nation-wide effort to administer the COVID-19 vaccine to millions of Australians over the coming months, as work continues to protect more people from the deadly pandemic.
The Federal Government is committed to providing access to safe and effective vaccines for COVID-19, and the distribution effort will be one of the largest logistical operations in our country’s history.
Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan said our pharmacies will be an important partner in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.
“An expression of interest (EOI) process will commence from today, 1 February 2021 for community pharmacies around Australia to participate in the Community Pharmacy COVID-19 Vaccination Program,” Mr Hogan said.
“This program will be used to immunise priority populations from Phase 2a – expected from May 2021 – onwards of the Australian COVID-19 Vaccination rollout strategy.”
“Utilising the existing network of community pharmacies will ensure the general population have broader access to COVID-19 vaccinations and will provide choice in where the community receive a vaccine.”
“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.”
“This process commenced recently for general practices to assist in the delivery of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, and community pharmacies will be another important vaccination point for many communities.”
All health professionals involved in the vaccination program will have undertaken specialised training, which is currently in development. This training is expected to be rolled out from early February.
Many of Australia’s community pharmacies are already critical in the delivery of the seasonal influenza vaccines across the entire population, and their efforts in stepping up to support the COVID 19 vaccine program will be important in ensuring wide accessibility and take up.
This will be the first time a national community pharmacy vaccination program will be rolled out funded by the Federal Government.
More information about the Governments COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy is available at health.gov.au and the EOI will be issued from 1 February 2021.
