More residents will now have the opportunity to get vaccinated thanks to the Moderna vaccine arriving in Orange on Thursday.
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Hogan's Pharmacy is one of the first community pharmacies in Orange to receive a shipment of 300 doses as part of the federal government's Tranche 1 vaccine roll-out.
The store's retail manager Nicola Maloney said that the demand for the vaccine among customers had been significant.
The pharmacy's waiting list was three pages long by the time Moderna arrived, with phone enquiries about it being a constant stream for weeks.
"We're trying to get to all those people and then we can open up our booking [system]. They're saying that within four weeks we won't have a problem with getting it, but up until then it's going to be quite constrained [with the number of vaccines each store can order]," she said.
The pharmacy's next batch for 400 Moderna doses has already been ordered but won't arrive for another two weeks.
Commencing September 27, Tranche 2 will see a further seven pharmacies in Orange receive 400 doses of the vaccine each.
The Moderna vaccine can be administered to anyone between the ages of 12 and 59.
The recommended time between first and second doses is four weeks. It is already in use across much of the world.
The 900 doses of Moderna arriving at community pharmacies in Orange this week in stage one of the roll-out, are part of the one million doses sent to Australia from Europe.
The three local pharmacies included in Tranche 1 of the rollout are among 1824 pharmacies across Australia currently in the process of receiving the vaccine, the Department of Health spokesperson told the Central Western Daily.
"By the start of week commencing 27 September, it is expected that more than 1660 pharmacies across Australia will have received Moderna and be able to start vaccinating," they said.
"It is anticipated by early October, over 3600 community pharmacies will be administering and providing patients the option of AstraZeneca or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
"Plans for community pharmacies to administer the Moderna vaccine were made in consultation with the states and territories, pharmacy peak bodies and logistics partners."
Community members with questions or concerns about COVID-19, including testing and vaccination, should contact the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080.
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