General News
5 November, 2021
Roll up to your local Pharmacy
With international borders starting to open, the push is on to lift vaccination levels across Queensland and in particular the far north.
AT THE END of October less than 64 per cent of the eligible 16+ population in Queensland had received both vaccination doses, whilst only 77.6 per cent have received their first dose. To meet the Queensland government’s goal of opening borders by December 17, a huge vaccination drive is needed.
Twenty-four community pharmacies throughout the Cairns region have now been accredited to administer the COVID vaccination.
Nathan Dobbie from Marlin Coast Amcal Pharmacy believes this could significantly lift the number of people rolling up their sleeve to receive their first or second jab.
“The relationship between a pharmacist and their customer is an important one. People trust their local pharmacist, we understand what medication our customers are on, and we’re there to answer their questions.
“There’s a lot of mis-information currently surrounding COVID vaccinations, your local pharmacist can answer many of the common questions helping our customers come to an informed decision regarding vaccination,” he said.
“Pharmacies have been administering a range of vaccinations for a number of years. The annual flu jab along with many of the common childhood vaccinations, it made perfect sense to include COVID vaccinations to the list, we’re local, very accessible and in most cases, you can receive your vaccination within 24 hours of booking.”
Northern Beaches locals, Greg and Herriet Peck received their second AstraZeneca vaccination dose this week at Marlin Coast Amcal Pharmacy.
“It’s so convenient for us. This is our local pharmacy, they know us here and so we had no hesitation in booking in,” said Ms Peck.
“We have family visiting us this Christmas from Melbourne who are all fully vaccinated, so we wanted to make sure we were double vaxxed well before they arrive. It’s going to be a great Christmas.”
To find your local participating pharmacy, head to the website, www.findapharmacy.com.au to register. You can book an appointment online there or request a call back to speak an operator to arrange a vaccination appointment.
