COVID-19 Vaccination Rollout

The Hon. T.J. STEPHENS (14:41): My question is to the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Will the minister update the council on the contribution community pharmacies are making to South Australia's COVID-19 vaccination program?

The Hon. S.G. WADE (Minister for Health and Wellbeing) (14:42): I would like to thank the honourable member for his question and his keen interest in the delivery of health services through pharmacies, only slightly behind the interest of the Hon. Tung Ngo.

Members interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Order!

The Hon. S.G. WADE: I think being slightly behind Tung Ngo is high praise.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, answer the question.

The Hon. S.G. WADE: Thank you, Mr President. South Australia's vaccine rollout continues to gather momentum, with South Australians rolling up their sleeves in record numbers. Last week there were more than 20,000 vaccinations delivered in a single day, and that was achieved on two consecutive days. There are almost 1.9 million doses that have been administered, with more than 73 per cent of South Australians aged 16 and over having received their first dose and over 55 per cent of South Australians aged over 16 fully vaccinated.

Pharmacists and pharmacy staff have been at the forefront of primary healthcare efforts throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are now a crucial part of the workforce that is delivering COVID-19 vaccines in the community. In addition to ensuring that all South Australians continue to have safe and timely access to medicines and health advice, they have now delivered more than 38,000 COVID vaccinations; that is double their dose number from just over two weeks ago, from 19,000 on 23 September.

So whilst the pharmacy network was a relatively late addition to the battery of vaccine distributions, they have undertaken a phenomenal effort in a short time, and I want to thank pharmacists, pharmacy staff and pharmacy businesses that are helping the vaccination program. Community pharmacies are the first healthcare providers to offer the Moderna vaccine to people aged 12 and over as part of a national strategy helping increase vaccine access in South Australia.

Access to the Moderna vaccine through pharmacies provides consumers with greater choice of vaccines and, importantly, helps ensure more people roll up their sleeves. I'm advised there are now 260 pharmacies providing COVID-19 vaccinations across the state. Most are providing both AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines, providing consumers with increased choice and access.

The commonwealth onboarding of pharmacies is ongoing and I am very keen to see that continue, particularly because in a number of rural communities the town may well have a pharmacy but it may not have a GP. South Australia is also continuing to work with the commonwealth to increase the timeliness of supply and the volume of Moderna flowing to pharmacies so that they can continue to help drive up our vaccination rates. Community pharmacies provide access and they have a proactive approach to helping reach even more South Australians.

I understand that some pharmacies are using Facebook to not only promote appointments but to reach out to the community to avoid wastage. I was recently told of someone who was at work looking at the online booking system when a colleague mentioned that the local chemist had just posted on Facebook that they had eight doses remaining that needed to be used before the day was out. A short walk and a few minutes later, the individual had received their first dose.

It will be extremely important that we are increasingly nimble and flexible in terms of responding to what will increasingly be the high fruit, if you like—people who, unlike the first tranches of South Australians stepping up, are not keen to get the vaccine. Perhaps they still need to be persuaded. Perhaps they need to be supported in terms of access.

Efforts like the pharmacy networks reaching out to their communities but also being accessible just one corner away from thousands of South Australians means that we continue to appreciate the pharmacy network as key partners in the vaccine program.