Canberra pharmacies in demand for COVID-19 booster shots

The recent death of his mother from cancer and a decades-long career in healthcare mean that Mr Elliott was keen to "get it done".

Due to COVID-19 restrictions he was unable to see his mother until her last day of life.

"I've worked in healthcare for 20 years and know what can happen, I know how hard it was with my mum, not going out, not seeing her literally until her last day," Mr Elliott said.

He said the decision to get his third COVID-19 vaccination was "obvious".

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On Sunday, the recommended waiting time for a booster shot was brought forward from six to five months since second dose. The use of both Pfizer and Moderna was also approved.

ACT Health says there were 23,894 boosters or third doses administered to ACT residents up until December 13.

This is 6.9 per cent of ACT residents aged 18 and older.

Since the announcement was made, staff at Capital Chemist Kingston have been exceptionally busy.

Managing partner Sandra Ferrington said the pharmacy had been inundated with calls.

"Lots of people are phoning to move appointments forward and new people are booking in," she said.

"At the moment we are [vaccinating] people who are very keen, we are doing a lot of older people."

In addition, she said people who had overseas travel plans were also moving their booster shot forward.

"Community pharmacies are really stepping up and providing the service, it's not an easy thing to organise and it's quite a commitment." The main challenges for the pharmacy included the sudden surge in demand along with availability of vaccines.

Ms Ferrington said because the announcement was made last minute, there was a lag in stock but the pharmacy had managed to shuffle supplies.

"Finding out on Sunday morning that this was happening was quite a scramble," she said.

Staffing vaccine clinics so close to Christmas has also been a hurdle.

Pharmacist Yuh-Lin Gan said uptake around Kingston had been encouraging. "Our community is taking it up because we have been really busy with appointments," Ms Gan said.

The business has administered more than 30 booster shots per day since Sunday.

"Everyone's really on board, very keen to get vaccinated," she said.

"We are opening up as far as our capacity allows in terms of stock and staffing levels."

The pharmacist explained there was a greater risk of Omicron transmission as people traveled over Christmas and borders opened up.

"It's more important people get protected because the protection does wane off over time," she said.

"So, getting on board with the COVID-19 booster shots will mean that you have better protection.

"Research has shown that side-effects would be possibly less as compared to the second dose. So there's not much reason for concern."

She said the booster would also provide better protection for younger and vulnerable communities who are not fully vaccinated.

Matt Develin, who owns multiple pharmacies across Canberra, believes the uptick in interest for booster shots had impacted business citywide. He suggested the ACT would experience a surge in booster shots in late January to February 2022 when the majority of the population became eligible.

Mr Develin said "what was happening in the environment at the time" would also influence the uptake of booster shots.

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