Pharmacists use “old vaccine stock” on patients to get a jump on their competitors, AMA president Dr Tony Bartone has suggested on national radio.

In the latest salvo in the AMA’s turf war with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Dr Bartone claimed “competitive pressures” led to vaccination with older stock before the free vaccine became available.

“Trivalent stock that was based on the previous year’s formulation was being offered prematurely to a group that would access it free, at an appropriate time, through a matter of a few weeks,” he said.

“This is part of the breakdown in the quality of care that can happen,” he added.