Flu vax age standardisation needed

PHARMACISTS across the country should be allowed to provide influenza vaccines to children aged 10 and older, to combat this year’s high infection rate, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia believes.

Responding to a call to increase flu vaccination uptake, published on the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ news GP website, Acting Guild National President, Trent Twomey, said Federal, State and Territory Health Ministers agreed that a nationally consistent approach to pharmacist administered vaccination was desirable, at a COAG Health Council meeting in Oct.

“Western Australia announced last month that pharmacists would be allowed to immunise children aged 10 years and older against influenza,” he said.

“This is a positive step in battling a killer influenza season but there still remains much to be done to harmonise vaccination in pharmacy in all the states and territories.

“Pharmacists in Tasmania are able also to vaccinate from the age of 10 years for influenza vaccine and this is evidence, if any is needed, that 10 years should be the minimum age across the country to ensure increased rates of vaccination to endure herd immunity.

“Getting vaccinated in pharmacies makes sense.

“People get vaccinated in pharmacy because it is easily accessible, including after hours and weekends, and an appointment is usually not required.”

Twomey described the “inconsistency of regulations” across the country as “a nonsense”.

“We must rectify it so that we can give communities across the whole country maximum opportunity to visit their pharmacy to be vaccinated and protected against the flu,” he said.

To date more than 250 people have died from the flu virus in Australia this year.

There have been over 130,000 laboratory confirmed cases of the virus nationwide to 08 Jul, more than double the 12-month figure for 2018, with growing concerns that the H3N2 strain of the virus has mutated, impacting the potential efficacy of vaccines.

Figures from the WA Department of Health indicate a slowdown in the rate of confirmed cases of the infection, with weekly data showing there were fewer than 2,500 new cases in the seven days to 09 Jul, down from a high of 3,839 a week.