Flu jabs in store?

The idea of flu jabs at pharmacies is gaining currency as health authorities prepare for
another battle with swine flu this winter.

In Australia, the Pharmaceutical Society has backed calls from manufacturer CSL for
pharmacists to administer the company's Panvax H1N1 influenza vaccine in a
nationwide drive to immunise against swine flu.

Pharmaceutical Society of Australia president Warwick Plunkett told Australia's
Pharmacy News he was confident vaccination rates would rise if pharmacists were
allowed to deliver them, pointing to the situation in Portugal, where half of all
pharmacies have been equipped to administer the flu vaccine. As a result, 25% of all
vaccines to September 2009 were delivered in pharmacies.

Otago University School of Pharmacy senior lecturer Sarah Hook is seeking funding
for a study into what pharmacists and the public think about vaccinations in
pharmacies. The study will look at flu shots for elderly people and those with chronic
conditions that make them eligible for free injections.

A preliminary survey several years ago revealed mixed views to the idea of pharmacy
vaccinations. Some pharmacists were concerned about time and legal issues and
others were wary of encroaching on GPs' territory.

However, Dr Hook says, "We want to target those who aren't being immunised at
present."

The uptake of the free vaccination in those with chronic health conditions, such as
diabetes, is low and she points out pharmacists see these patients often.

Dr Hook says pharmacists could ask, 'Did you know you are eligible for a free flu
shot?'"

Pharmacy Guild chief executive Annabel Young agrees pharmacists are well placed
to promote vaccination. But she says it needs to be a business decision for each one of
them.

"Some pharmacists would want to get into it, while others would not due to time or
other business constraints…It should be up to them to decide," Ms Young says.

However, National Immunisation Programme manager David Wansbrough says the
Government doesn't see a need to provide flu immunisation in pharmacies "at this
stage".

New Zealand's strategy for reducing the impact of pandemic influenza is different
from Australia where a mass pandemic H1N1 influenza immunisation campaign is
under way. "Here we are focusing on protecting those at highest risk of pandemic flu
complications and frontline healthcare workers by offering early immunisation
starting (February)," Mr Wansbrough says.

"Once our seasonal influenza vaccine supplies arrive, immunisation will be offered
first to those who usually get free flu vaccine each year, for example, the over-65s and
people with certain medical conditions, and then anyone else who wants it and is
willing to pay a charge." He thinks the Government can best achieve this through the
systems already in place.

<< Back