Community pharmacies across Australia have now delivered 1 million COVID-19 vaccinations to patients in the pharmacy setting, helping to bring the national vaccine rollout back on track and protect more Australians.
Since being brought into the rollout in June, community pharmacies have been a critical element of the push to maximise vaccination uptake among communities across Australia.
National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Trent Twomey said the milestone reached today was significant.
“The onboarding of community pharmacies into the rollout has been a phenomenal success by any measure,” he said.
“On-boarding community pharmacies has helped to get us on track to opening the country up again when we reach maximum vaccination targets.
“Initially supplying the AstraZeneca and more recently the Moderna vaccine, community pharmacies have filled a void in the strategy to vaccinate the population.
“A critical factor in the huge success of community pharmacies in the vaccination rollout is their accessibility.
“We are open when other health professionals and vaccine providers are not, and pharmacies providing COVID-19 vaccinations have gone the extra mile to stay open, longer, at weekends and even at times to suit individual patients.
“I congratulate all community pharmacies involved in providing COVID-19 vaccinations for helping to reach this milestone which reinforces the faith patients have in this critical sector of the healthcare system.”
