CSO offers COVAX boost
ENGAGING Community Service Obligation (CSO) wholesalers to distribute COVID-19 vaccines (COVAX) would offer the Federal Government a reliable and cost-effective model, National Pharmaceutical Services Association Chair, Richard Vincent, believes.
Speaking with Pharmacy Daily, Vincent said the pharmacy wholesalers have continued to offer their services to the Government’s COVID-19 Taskforce, to assist with the distribution of the vaccines.
“From my perspective it’s the most reliable, efficient and cost-effective model in the industry... and I’m sure all stakeholders would agree with that,” he said.
“I think there is some acknowledgement from Government that at a point in time it needs to move from the crisis mode that we’ve been in, in the early days of COVID to something more business as usual.
“And if we’re considering business as usual, then we would put forward the case that it should be done through the CSO wholesalers.”
In terms of delivering a more cost-effective distribution service, Vincent was “not just pointing to what they [the Government] would be paying” to get the vaccines to pharmacies.
“I’m also talking to wastage in the system - you’ll have read numerous articles that talk about stock being in the wrong locations, turning up late, being damaged, going out of date or out of temperature control,” he said.
“If you revert to the normal processes that the CSO distributors have in place the majority of that would go away.
“So there’s not just the absolute cost of providing the service, but there’s all the side-effects that would be mitigated [by using CSO wholesalers].”
Vincent added that the announcement by Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, that community pharmacies will be able to access stock of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, alongside the AstraZeneca and Moderna shots, strengthened the case for CSO wholesalers’ involvement.
“I think it’s a tremendous move on his part, [and] logically now that all three [vaccines being used in the national COVAX program] will be available through community pharmacy they should also be available through the CSO system,” he said.