Bowen pharmacies congratulated for administering thousands of Covid-19 vaccinations

Two Bowen pharmacies are being congratulated for vaccinating a quarter of their community against Covid-19 as more emphasis falls on vaccinations as the key to lifting restrictions.

Bowen pharmacist Emma Lyons administering a Covid-19 vaccination. Picture: Supplied

Two Bowen pharmacies are leading the race to vaccinate the Whitsunday region against Covid-19.

LiveLife Pharmacy Bowen Healthcare and LiveLife Pharmacy Bowen Plaza have received special acknowledgment from the Pharmacy Guild of Australia for vaccinating more than a quarter of the Bowen community – delivering more than 2500 vaccinations to a population of just more than 10,000 since early June.

The Pharmacy Guild’s acting Queensland branch president Chris Owen said the Bowen teams deserved to be congratulated for their “herculean” efforts and that it was “hard to imagine anywhere else where two community pharmacies have delivered this large of a proportion of vaccines to their community”.

More than 700 Queensland community pharmacies are now administering free Covid-19 vaccinations in metropolitan, regional and remote areas, to help provide equitable access.

The LiveLife Pharmacy Bowen Healthcare team. Picture: Supplied

The Bowen teams’ efforts are especially admirable given government data recently revealed the Whitsunday region as one of the least vaccinated in the state with local healthcare providers citing social media “conspiracy theories” among the factors contributing to vaccine hesitancy.

Pharmacist Rebecca Edgerton said the Bowen teams had been able to overcome people’s initial “apprehension” by ensuring staff were fully trained in answering questions and helping with bookings.

Ms Edgerton said it was common for patients to be unsure at the start of the process but then relieved after their first dose – and feeling much more confident about the future after both doses.

The LiveLife Pharmacy Bowen Plaza team. Picture: Supplied

“Once they [patients] have the discussion and we talk about side-effects they are actually quite relieved they will be covered,” Ms Edgerton said.

“So they are excited by the time of the second dose to get it off their mind.

“They are very thankful for us putting up our hands to participate. And they say it was an easy process because everything was explained before the vaccination.

“They trust us. They trust our advice and they know it wouldn’t happen if it was not suitable.”

Mr Owen said community pharmacies continued to receive doses of AstraZeneca and would begin offering the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines later in September.

Visit findapharmacy.com.au/qldpharmacy to see a list of all Queensland community pharmacies that are administering the Covid-19 vaccination.

Originally published as Bowen pharmacies congratulated for administering thousands of Covid-19 vaccinations