Pharmacy Daily | Guild rejects GP flu vax priority call

CALLS for orders of influenza vaccine doses from general practice clinics to take priority over ones from community pharmacies, is being described as "tawdry turfism" by the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

Following yesterday's announcement from Seqirus that it would distribute one million doses of its flu vaccine to private market immunisers in the coming weeks, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) President, Dr Harry Nespolon, said "the problem was never that there was a shortage" (PD 27 May).

"The problem is with the distribution of the flu vaccine and it has been a problem for a long time," he said.

"Every year we see the same issue - the vaccine comes too slowly to GP clinics and we don't get enough for our patients."

A statement from the RACGP called for improved supply and demand modelling to ensure clinics receive appropriate allocations of the vaccine, before demanding an "adequate supply of influenza vaccines must be prioritised to general practice ahead of pharmacies to ensure access and better health outcomes for patients".

The College also accused pharmacies of misleading advertising "resulting in patients paying for the vaccine unnecessarily, getting their vaccine too early in the year, and vulnerable patients not getting the most effective vaccine".

However, Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President, George Tambassis, rejected Nespolon and the RACGP's claims, noting "it was community pharmacists and their staff who continued to turn up and keep their doors open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, serving patients face-to-face and providing influenza vaccination".

"The way to maximise access to vaccination for all Australians is not prioritisation of general practice, but greater access to the National Immunisation Program (NIP) through community pharmacies across Australia in all jurisdictions," he said.

Guild Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, echoed Tambassis's call for greater access to NIP stock.

"Why should a patient in Wodonga on the Victorian side of the Murray River get access to an NIP vaccine through a community pharmacy but across the river in Albury, NSW they can't?" he asked

"It does not make sense and must change.

"Why should a patient have to pay any out of pocket costs for access to an NIP vaccine through a pharmacy by way of a fee for administering the vaccination, but not through a bulk billing GP or nurse practitioner? The flu vaccination is no more magically effective when administered by one competent and suitably trained health professional over another.

"Community pharmacies simply should and must have access to the Medicare rebates for delivery of important health services like vaccinations to help reduce unnecessary out of pocket costs for patients and help further encourage take up of annual vaccination."