Kiama pharmacist Sean Kelly says he and his colleagues are just "sitting on their hands" while they wait to join the state's COVID vaccine rollout.
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"We've had our hands up for months - we really want to contribute to the vaccination effort and protect Australians against this terrible disease," he said. "We are getting frustrated that we are not able to play our part."
Mr Kelly is the treasurer of the Illawarra Pharmacists Association, which is calling on the state government to authorise pharmacists to offer COVID vaccinations as a matter of urgency.
He said while thousands of pharmacies have been approved by the Commonwealth Government to be COVID-19 vaccination centres, it was up to the states and territories to decide when pharmacies in their jurisdictions could begin administering vaccines.
The first pharmacy-delivered shots were delivered in Boonah, Queensland, on Monday this week.
"There's around 4000 pharmacies nationally which have been approved to give the vaccine - if these pharmacies were able to vaccinate 10 people a day, that's around a quarter of a million people each week who could get vaccinated," Mr Kelly said.
"We're looking at over a year before the national rollout is finished - some 400 days as I understand. If pharmacies were involved we could reduce that by half, to around 200 days.
"Queensland is leading the way, we're calling on the NSW Government to follow suit."
Community pharmacies were ideal vaccination sites, he added, as they were accessible and already had vaccination trained staff administering other vaccines.
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"We already administer vaccines for influenza for those aged 10 years and over, as well as the combined diptheria, tetanus and whooping cough vaccine to those aged 16 and over," Mr Kelly said.
"Our pharmacists undergo comprehensive accreditation, and we have booking systems in place.
"We are very accessible, and able to talk to people about any concerns they may have so they can make an informed decision about the vaccine."
In Queensland, pharmacies are administering the AstraZeneca vaccine for those aged 50 and over.
"I imagine we would initially be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine," Mr Kelly said.
"However the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved changes to the storage and transportation requirements for the Pfizer vaccine so that may be a possibility for pharmacies too."
A NSW Health spokesperson stated: "NSW Health, in partnership with the Commonwealth Government, is continuing to work closely with the Pharmacy Guild and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia to determine potential pilot areas that may be suitable for delivery of the COVID-19 vaccines by community pharmacists."
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