RATs, Covid boosters scarce across Gympie, Fraser Coast, Bundaberg

Waiting lists, ‘first in best dressed’, price gouging and long booster shot queues across Gympie, Bundaberg and the Fraser Coast plague a region with rapidly escalating Covid cases.

Booking boosters and finding rapid antigen tests remain a hit and miss struggle across the Wide Bay, with accusations some outlets are price gouging on their own stock.

One pharmacy on the Fraser Coast was called out on the popular Bundaberg and Wide Bay hot spots Facebook page for alleged price gouging.

The post claimed the pharmacy was selling packs of 7 tests for $150, sparking outrage among members of the page.

“What a rip-off. They need to be reported for charging that much. Price gouging at its ugliest” an account claiming to belong to Michele Ridge posted.

Another user told commenters that the owner of the pharmacy said the reason they were so pricey was “because he had to fly these in himself”.

Australian Consumer Competition Commission chairman Rod Sims has warned retailers charging $20 or more per test to explain the reasoning behind the cost.

The wholesale cost of the individual tests is between $3.95 and $11.45.

The concerns of inflated prices have arisen due to an ongoing shortage of the tests across the country.

Malouf Pharmacies on the Gympie Southside has been getting the tests in regularly but said on Monday the latest stock was reportedly stuck in customs.

One Wide Bay chemist has reportedly been selling packs of seven RATs for $150, according to one commenter on Facebook.

A staff member said they did not know when the stock would arrive.

An automated message playing for callers to the Direct Chemist Outlet at Gympie’s Goldfields Plaza said the store had no RATs available but more were expected “in the coming days”.

Chemist Warehouse Gympie and Bundaberg had a recorded phone message stating RAT shipments were arriving regularly and were available on a “first come, first served” system.

Stock could not be placed on hold.

Blooms the Chemist and Friendlies Pharmacy in Bundaberg had no tests available on Monday.

However, Bundaberg Discount Drug Store on Bourbong Street was taking names and numbers for their waiting list for packs of 2, 5 and 10 tests.

Booster shots were easier to secure in Bundaberg, but those not prepared to head to a TAFE or Maryborough City Hall Monday afternoon faced waits of at least a week.

Chemist Warehouse online booking system returned no available slots for the Moderna booster in Gympie’s 4570 postcode.

On the Fraser Coast, the earliest booking available in Maryborough was January 25, and on February 3, in Hervey Bay.

Gympie’s Chemist Warehouse was one of many pharmacies across the Wide Bay with no RATs in stock on Monday.

The earliest booking in Bundaberg was January 24.

No availabilities were found across the Wide Bay for the Pfizer booster.

Good Price Pharmacy Warehouse’s online booking system showed no available Pfizer or Moderna booster bookings available across Gympie, Fraser Coast and Bundaberg regions.

Kingaroy and Gladstone are the closest available bookings returned by the search engine.

Malouf Pharmacies at Bundaberg had Moderna booster bookings available from January 27, and Pfizer from February 1.

No booster shot bookings were available at Malouf’s Gympie pharmacies at the Southside Shopping Centre or Reef St.

Priceline Pharmacies had booster bookings for AstraZeneca available at Bundaberg from January 21 and Moderna from January 29.

The Gympie Priceline outlet had Moderna booster bookings available from February 10.

There were no online bookings available at the Hervey Bay pharmacy.