Across South Australia, elderly residents seeking a newly available pneumococcal vaccine are finding pharmacy shelves empty — a situation health authorities describe as uneven distribution rather than shortage, though the distinction offers little comfort to those turned away. The collision of expanded eligibility criteria and the rollout of a more comprehensive new vaccine has strained supply chains faster than distribution networks could absorb. In the gap between policy and delivery, vulnerable people remain unprotected against diseases — pneumonia, meningitis, bloodstream infections — that
Pneumococcal vaccine supply strained as elderly turned away from pharmacies
Elderly people, particularly those over 65 and at-risk groups, are unable to access protective vaccination against serious diseases including pneumonia and meningitis.