Vulnerable patients left waiting amid ongoing Shingrix shortage

GPs across the country have been left increasingly frustrated by an ongoing battle to secure enough Shingrix vaccines to keep up with rising patient demand.
 
Doctors say they have been forced to make patients wait for the treatment, despite the Federal Government touting the rollout as one of the ‘most comprehensive shingles vaccine programs anywhere in the world’.
 
As of 1 November, all Australians aged over 65, as well as vulnerable patient groups, became eligible for a free vaccine after the recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV, sold as Shingrix) was made available under the National Immunisation Program (NIP).

The $800 million plan was applauded by patients and GPs alike; however, it hit roadblocks from day one, with several practices reporting shortages before the rollout even began.
 
Six months after its introduction, those shortages show no sign of easing.
 
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said currently, she is only able to access 20 vaccines each month to service an entire general practice.
 
‘It’s really a problem because you need to repeat the vaccination at the three-to-four-month mark, so everyone who was newly vaccinated in January then needs another vaccination now,’ she told newsGP.
 
‘It means we’re not able to vaccinate new patients because we’re busy giving the second vaccination to everyone who needs the initial vaccination from January … and you get stuck in this cycle.
 
‘We’d hoped we would be able to do a really big vaccination drive and help all of these immunosuppressed people who we’d love to give the Shingrix vaccine to, but we’ve not been able to do that.’
 
When asked about supply, the vaccine’s sponsor, GSK Australia, told newsGP it is ‘working with the Australian Government to ensure Shingrix is accessible to Australians who need the vaccine, when and where they need it’.
 
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) said it is in discussions with GSK to bring in additional vaccines to meet high demand being experienced across the country.
 
‘demand for the shingles vaccine … has exceeded the initial forecasts we agreed with states and territories based on population estimates,’ a spokesperson told newsGP.
 
‘The department is in regular contact with all jurisdictions to manage the supply of Shingrix and will continue to revise forecasts in order to meet demand.’
 
This latest backlog comes after Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly initially addressed shortages in February, acknowledging some patients were ‘experiencing difficulties’ in accessing RZV.
 
‘[I] wish to assure the community the Australian Government is doing all it can to ensure eligible Australians have timely access to this important shingles vaccine,’ he said.
 
Dr Leanne Jones, a Tasmanian-based GP and Immunisation Coalition Board Member, told newsGP her practice had a waiting list for the vaccine as soon as it was added to the NIP.
 
‘We had people that were waiting for the notice, and we told patients, “we think this is in the wind, we want you to have this vaccine”, and so we had a bit of a waiting list,’ she said.
 
‘And it’s not effective until you’ve had the second dose, so it’s actually better to have 50 people vaccinated properly, than 100 people only receiving one dose.
 
‘We hear these announcements and then suddenly we’re inundated with everyone who wants something, and it would be really nice if we had a heads up of what’s happening or how many vaccines we’re going to get.’
 
In total, around 1.2 million Shingrix doses have been administered via the NIP, but supply continues to slowdown the program’s rollout.
 
Dr Hoffman said it has been left to doctors to share the news with increasingly frustrated patients that they cannot get their vaccine.
 
‘If we were aware that it would be slow and in dribs and drabs, then we would be able to prepare for it and we would have just done things slightly differently,’ she said.
 
‘If we’d known that the supply was going to be as little as it is, then we probably wouldn’t have got as excited and got all our patients as excited back in November.
 
‘GPs need really clear communication about what to expect, when there will be adequate supply of vaccines, and then we can notify patients of that.’
 
RZV replaced the live-attenuated varicella zoster virus vaccine (sold as Zostavax) on the NIP following advice from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC) and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
 
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National Immunisation Program shingles Shingrix vaccination