Austria will allow pharmacies to administer selected vaccines

Austria will allow pharmacies to administer certain vaccines from next year, with the first vaccinations expected in spring as tick season begins, ORF reported. The measure was approved by the government’s ministerial council on Wednesday.

Pharmacies will initially be able to vaccinate against tick-borne encephalitis, hepatitis B, tetanus, whooping cough and diphtheria. Influenza, Covid-19, RSV and other vaccinations will remain the responsibility of doctors’ practices and health authorities. People in risk groups will not be eligible for vaccination in pharmacies.

Hans Bachitsch, president of the Carinthian Chamber of Pharmacists, called the decision a milestone for public health, saying it could raise vaccination rates and reduce illness. He said pharmacists had spent four years preparing and had received training, including in how to respond to emergencies.

The Carinthian Medical Association remains sceptical. Maria Korak-Leiter, the doctors’ representative for Klagenfurt-Land, said a severe allergic reaction could follow vaccination and argued that doctors’ practices were better equipped to handle such complications.

Carinthia’s public health director, Karin Schorna-Drescher, said the flu wave was likely to reach Austria, possibly earlier than last year, when infections peaked before Christmas. The state and the Medical Association are urging people at higher risk, including those with chronic illnesses, young children and people over 60, to get vaccinated.

Most vaccines, which are largely free, have been distributed across Carinthia since last week, according to the report. Korak-Leiter said doctors’ practices had enough supply to vaccinate patients who wanted a shot. Bachitsch said more than 100 pharmacies in Carinthia were ready for the new role and hoped they would eventually be allowed to administer additional vaccines.