Tasmania becomes Australia’s 5th jurisdiction to authorise pharmacist-led RSV vaccination
9 August 2024
Pharmacist immunisers are able to authorise and administer RSV vaccines for pregnant women and people over 60 years of age following a change to the Tasmanian Pharmacist Immunisation Program Guidelines, in a move welcomed by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia (PSA).
The move follows a similar change in the ACT in recent weeks.
Tasmanian PSA President Mr Mark Kirschbaum urged at-risk Tasmanians to protect themselves against the debilitative condition;
“RSV is a serious condition in those at risk, particularly older people and infants. ATAGI have recommended vaccination as a single dose for all people over 75 years of age and pregnant women to offer immunity to newborns. I urge those who are at risk to talk to their pharmacist or doctor regarding the benefits and costs of RSV vaccination,” he said.
PSA National President Associate Professor Fei Sim urged other states to follow-suit, noting the complexity of regulations around who can authorise and administer vaccines is limiting community protection against vaccine-preventable diseases:
“I urge all regulators in all states to remove unnecessary barriers to vaccination, including for RSV vaccination” she said.
A/Prof Sim continued, “currently, pharmacist immunisers in Northern Territory and Western Australia can only administer RSV vaccines after a prescription has been issued. In South Australia, pharmacist immunisers cannot administer RSV vaccines, even when prescribed by a doctor. Meanwhile, in other states pharmacists have prescribed and administered thousands of doses of these life-saving vaccines. It just makes no sense, and it’s placing Australians at risk.”
“The Australian Immunisation Handbook is Australia’s national vaccination formulary. We should be working towards using this as our standard to define all vaccinator’s vaccine formularies, rather than using complex regulatory instruments in each state and territory,” A/Prof Sim concluded.
“National harmonisation of vaccination scope will ensure Australians receive equitable access to care.”
PSA’s vaccination hub has been developed to help pharmacists navigate the complex regulatory instruments regarding vaccines which they can authorise and administer. The state-by-state comparison tables are available here: https://www.psa.org.au/state-vaccination-regulations/
