Child health fears as pharmacies authorised to vaccinate patients as young as two

Debate has erupted over Queensland’s Australian-first vaccination rules - raising the hackles of state doctors. VOTE NOW

AMAQ president Dr Maria Boulton

Queensland pharmacists will be allowed to vaccinate children as young as two under major new Australian-first rules that have immediately raised the hackles of the state’s doctors.

Under the state government’s latest move pharmacists in Queensland will also be allowed to administer a wider range of vaccines, including for hepatitis, chickenpox, meningococcal B, HPV, typhoid, shingles and mosquito-borne Japanese encephalitis.

The expansion is designed to make vaccine access more equitable across the state amid low and falling immunisation rates, but Queensland’s peak medical body has slammed it as unjustified and a step too far.

AMAQ president Maria Boulton said letting pharmacists vaccinate children age two and older, down from a minimum of the age of five, could lead to missed diagnoses of developmental delays, postnatal depression in parents and family violence risks.

“A childhood immunisation appointment is not just a vaccine appointment – it’s an opportunity to track that a child is growing, assess for any delays in hearing or speech, and check in with the parents,” she said.

“If these delays are missed, the child’s social interaction and school performance can be affected and the child may need treatment for longer.

“For these reasons, no other jurisdiction in Australia allows pharmacists to vaccinate children under five years.

“The Queensland government is gambling with our children’s health and we cannot support such an unjustified expansion.”

Pharmacy Guild of Queensland president Chris Owen said giving family choice on where to go meant they need not wait for a GP appointment.

“This is an important step towards combating the declining immunisation rates in our children that have occurred since the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Pharmacists in other states and territories can already administer a wide range of vaccines, but Queensland is the first to allow children as young as two to get jabbed by them.

Under the changes pharmacists will also be able to administer vaccines in more clinical settings — like GP clinics and aged care facilities. This is supported by the AMAQ “as it occurs in close collaboration with other health professionals including doctors and nurses”.

Pharmacists are now also able to administer prescription drugs, under the instruction of the authorised medical professional, in certain settings like community pharmacies and private health facilities.

Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said she was “absolutely committed” to providing healthcare closer to home for Queenslanders.

“These changes will allow more equitable access to healthcare, especially for those living in rural, remote, and regional Queensland.

“We know how important vaccinations are for keeping not only ourselves and our families healthy, but more broadly, our communities across Queensland.

“Our recent Vaccination Summit demonstrated the importance of vaccination accessibility, which is why we’ve also expanded the locations where vaccines can be administered by a pharmacist.”

The regulation changes come into effect on October 30.