SA Health chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier is assuring South Australians that supply remains for the pneumococcal vaccine despite one woman claiming she was turned away from multiple pharmacies when seeking a shot for her elderly mother.

Spurrier told InDaily that the vaccine was still available in SA, while noting there has been high national demand since a booster shot was introduced in July by the Commonwealth government.

“Vaccine supply is the responsibility of the Commonwealth Government, and we are in ongoing discussions with them to release additional supply,” she said.

“Since distribution began at the introduction of the program in July, an estimated 70 per cent of available vaccines have been administered to people.

“Vaccine availability may vary between locations, so people eligible for the booster are encouraged to contact their GP, pharmacy or vaccine provider for availability and to check other local providers.”

Pneumococcal vaccine protects people from illnesses such as pneumonia, meningitis and infections in the bloodstream, with AMA SA president and associate professor Dr Peter Subramaniam saying these diseases are “not an insignificant problem” for at-risk groups.

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From July 1, the eligibility criteria for free access to the vaccine expanded to cover adults over 65, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over 25 and at-risk adults over 18.

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One woman, who asked not to be named, told InDaily that she arranged to take her 89-year-old mother to her local pharmacy at Henley Beach for the pneumococcal vaccine, but when she called the pharmacy beforehand, she was told it was not available.

“I rang a couple of other pharmacies to see if they had any stock but was told that there were none of the free vaccinations for the elderly,” she said.

“There were other vaccinations that could be paid for, but they did not have the strain that is necessary for the elderly. It concerns me, given her age.”

When InDaily rang around this morning, the pneumococcal vaccine was not available at Chemist Warehouse in Port Adelaide or Norwood or at National Pharmacies in Salisbury; however, it was available at TerryWhite Chemmart in Walkerville and National Pharmacies in Brighton.

Subramaniam said GPs around Australia had raised concerns about supply delays of the vaccine with the peak body for doctors.

He said demand had surged after the new Capvaxive vaccine, which covers 21 strains of pneumococcal disease, was approved for use last year, while the expansion in eligibility criteria also led to increased demand.

“What we now have is a combination of a new vaccine, and of course that will impact on supply, as well as increased demand,” Subramaniam said.

He was “urgently” calling on the Commonwealth and SA Health to release a public timeframe of when vaccine supply will “normalise”.

“In South Australia, we know that older people with pneumonia are a big part of the hospital bed demand,” Subramaniam said.

“Pneumococcus is not just a problem in August – it’s a year-round disease, and we also know that pneumonia in older people fills our beds and contributes to ramping; so, any action that we can take to protect people from needing hospitalisation, we absolutely need to do.”

He urged people belonging to at-risk groups to let their GPs or Aboriginal health services know so they are put on a priority list to get the vaccine as soon as it is available there.

“The other message as well that is really important here is: don’t wait to have your flu, your COVID or your RSV vaccine while you are waiting for the pneumococcus vaccine because you need that protection as well,” he said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing also said there was “no shortage of Pneumococcal vaccines”.

‘We are aware of some localised distribution issues where some sites have not been supplied enough and other sites have been supplied more than they need,” she said.

“The Department has worked with the vaccine manufacturer to bring forward deliveries of additional supply, and the Department is working closely with states and territories (who manage local distribution of NIP vaccines to immunisation providers) to support availability returning to normal.”