NOVAVAX'S long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine is being rolled out through close to 870 community pharmacies across the country, with more set to receive stock of the shot in the coming weeks.
Pharmacy Guild of Australia Victorian Branch President, Anthony Tassone, told Pharmacy Daily, that more than 3,000 doses of the vaccine have been administered through the community pharmacy network in recent days.
Tassone said more pharmacies will be allocated supplies of the vaccine on a phased basis, based on their interest and quantities ordered.
He noted the additional vaccine option was likely to be of interest to the very small proportion of vaccine hesitant Australians and people who have been unable to receive other COVID-19 vaccines due to medical reasons.
However, he added that as Novavax has yet to be approved as a booster, "in three months' time if it has not been approved as a booster [in the meantime] they will need to get a dose of another vaccine to be considered up to date with their vaccines".
Meanwhile, he said the current remuneration model for the vaccination program was a factor in the sluggish rollout of paediatric vaccines, with many pharmacies reporting that the $16 fee for administering a first dose did not appropriately compensate pharmacies for the additional steps involved in administering the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children.
He added the some pharmacies may consider administering the Moderna vaccine to children once the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation issues its recommendations on the use of the vaccine in children.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 21 Feb 22
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