The end of the COVID pandemic is near, with a transition to the virus being endemic already underway as booster shots roll out, says Pharmacy Guild of Australia National President Trent Twomey.
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Mr Twomey was on Wednesday at Riverside to announce a national COVID booster shot rollout, just hours after the Therapeutic Goods Administration gave provisional approval for Australians 18 and over to receive a top-up dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
State Pharmacy Guild president Helen O'Byrne was on hand for the announcement and said the 85 community pharmacies spanning Tasmania were excited at the opportunity to continue to increase vaccination rates, and to deliver boosters.
The booster, which will roll out in general practices and pharmacies from November 8, will only become accessible six months after an individual achieves fully vaccinated status.
As a result, just 138,000 people across Australia will be eligible for the booster from the start of the rollout. But there would be 1.6 million eligible by the end of the year, in line with the intial vaccination regime.
"As we move from pandemic to endemic ... we need to increase the accessibility not just to prevention - vaccines - we need to increase the accessibility to treatment, and we need to increase the accessibility to testing," Mr Twomey said.
The only booster shot approved by the TGA to date was from Pfizer, with Moderna and AstraZeneca not yet on the menu.
Pharmacies had been a part of the national COVID vaccination rollout for some months and Mr Twomey said they had now delivered 1.5 million doses. In Tasmania that number was about 20,000, according to state Pharmacy Guild president Helen O'Byrne.
The pharmacy rollout had been largely based on Moderna and AstraZeneca jabs, and despite Pfizer being the only approved booster, Mr Twomey said it would not be a problem.
He said regardless of what vaccine was delivered to achieve fully-vaccinated status, Pfizer was approved as a third dose.
"The clinical advice is very, very clear. Regardless of the brand that you first chose for your initial vaccinations, all Australians are eligible for Pfizer shots through their local community pharmacy or their local GP," Mr Twomey said.
Ms O'Byrne said Tasmanian pharmacies had shouldered a load of the vaccination rollout, and that had increased after state Premier Peter Gutwein announced a border reopening plan in effect from mid-December.
"That December 15 date is etched in people's minds. They're very aware of it, and we're very aware of it," she said.
"Our bookings have increased incredibly since last week [and] we're excited to be able to ramp up our vaccination rates ... it's been a busy time."
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