Finley pharmacy among 22 others first allowed to give AstraZeneca

The state government announced on Thursday that the pharmacies would be able to deliver the vaccine to those aged 60 and over as part of a pilot program to assist the national roll out.

Finley head pharmacist and owner John Shawky said he thought almost all of the people aged 60 years and over in the district would have already received their COVID-19 vaccination.

"It is too late," he said.

"If I'm entitled only to give it 60 and above, I don't know if I'm going to find a lot of people to give it to.

"The GPs have already done it, they've been giving the vaccine since April."

Mr Shawky said he applied for the pharmacy to be able to deliver the vaccine in May and approval to deliver the shots was two months over due.

"Everything got postponed, so we weren't sure whether we were going to do it at all or not until last week when I received the confirmation email," he said.

Mr Shawky said he was now able to order the AstraZeneca vaccine, but he was holding off until Sunday when he would visit Finley and assess the demand of people wanting to get the vaccine.

"They sent me an email to sign up the pharmacy for stock, just to start ordering the vaccine, which I didn't yet," he said.

"I was waiting, I didn't want to stock the vaccine in the fridge and not use it.

"I don't want to waste the stock, it's very precious stock, so I'm waiting to see how I go with the public."

IN OTHER NEWS:

He said he was considering doing a two day vaccination clinic, but now was not sure.

"If they think it's going to help them out, I'm more than happy to do it, but at the end of the day we need to know how many people from the community we are going to give it to," he said.

"The other day I was talking to the pharmacy manager I said, 'have you heard from anyone from the public keen to come to the pharmacy to have the COVID-19 vaccine?' She said there was one or two.

"That's why I was even delaying ordering this stock too, because I don't want to keep the stock in my fridge and then just two or three people asking for it.

"I'm going over to Finley this weekend (to see the interest), but if I'm going to order, I'll order the minimum.

"I'll start with the minimum and see how I go and then if I got a lot of requests from the surrounding towns, I might stock it up, but I'll start with the minimal roll out."

Finley pharmacy and the others in the vaccination program were chosen for the pilot because they were in an area where accessing a GP or vaccine clinic was more limited due to geography.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said would help with the phased rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine to remote communities.

"This is a vital step to help ensure as many people in NSW as possible receive their COVID-19 vaccination as soon as possible," she said.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the program would make it easier for people to get the vaccine when there was a current significant demand for vaccination bookings across the state.

"I want to reassure the community that everyone in NSW who wants to be vaccinated, will be vaccinated as soon as possible when it's their turn," he said.

The pharmacies in the pilot can only administer the vaccine to those aged 60 and above with their written consent.

It is expected additional pharmacies will join the COVID-19 vaccination program in the future.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: