MEMBER for Mallee Anne Webster says her constituents are in danger of contracting shingles after the Federal Government’s “mishandling” of a “now severe” shortage of a vaccine.
Dr Webster claimed doctors had to halt first doses as part of the $826 million Shingrix vaccine rollout due to the shortages.
She said state governments had called for support and were reportedly rationing how many doses general practitioners can prescribe.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners claimed late last year some GPs have been unable to order enough doses to meet patient demand.
Shingles is a disease that triggers a painful skin rash. It is caused by the same virus as chickenpox, and about one in three adults who had contracted chickenpox will develop this condition later in life.
Dr Webster said the government made a “clear commitment” to roll out the shingles vaccine to Australians over the age of 65, “and on-the-ground reports demonstrate the commitment is not going to plan”.
“The health minister has been missing in action on this issue since Christmas, claiming there is no shortage,” Dr Webster said.
“Shingles doesn’t take a holiday, and this rollout is on the slow train to nowhere.
“Meanwhile, in my electorate, an estimated 40,000 Mallee constituents are eligible for this program and an estimated 650 shingles cases could be experienced in patients over 65 this year.”
Mr Butler said in December that almost half-a-million doses of the vaccine were due to be delivered this month.
“And after that, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of vaccine have been ordered so we are very confident that the program has been delivered as we designed,” he said.
When pressed about GPs reporting a shortage, Mr Butler said it was the most comprehensive shingles vaccine program in the world.
“Mainly older Australians will be eligible .. we expect significant numbers to be taking it up,” he said.
“What I would encourage GPs to do is to use the order system they have in place for the National Immunisation Program. We issue the vaccine doses to the states and territories and they arrange the delivery of doses to general practice and other points of administration.”
Shingrix was put on the National Immunisation Program in November for an estimated five million people aged 65 and over, Indigenous people aged 50 and over, and immuno-compromised people aged 18 and over with specific medical conditions.
Prior to the NIP listing, the two-dose program cost around $560.
