The Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA) is pleased that some Western Australian community pharmacists have begun vaccinating against Covid-19.
However, they are still calling for full activation of the pharmacy workforce.
From today, 49 WA community pharmacies in locations such as Broome, Denmark and Esperance, will commence immunising their local communities.
PSA WA President Dr Fei Sim expresses her concerns about pharmacist involvement being limited.
“This is fantastic for rural residents in towns including Donnybrook, Narogin and Wickham, but with 50% of people aged over 50 years still to get their first dose, it is time to activate all approved community pharmacies in WA now,” says Dr Sim.
“While this is a great start, a further 463 pharmacies have been approved by the government but are yet to start vaccinating.
“As Australia’s most accessible healthcare workforce, bringing all community pharmacists on-board will accelerate the rollout, especially in Australia’s largest and most population-dispersed state.”
She continues, “While Western Australia’s Covid-19 experience is the envy of the world, vaccination is the only path out of the pandemic.
“We must do everything we can to get as many Western Australians vaccinated against this terrible disease as soon as possible. This means activating all of our full vaccinator workforce – including pharmacists – as soon as possible.”
