A critical shortage of the pneumonia vaccine in some parts of the country is "temporary", say authorities, as some pharmacies have run dry.
In July, a new vaccine, Capvaxive, was introduced to protect against pneumococcal disease.
According to the Department of Health, Capvaxive has been in "high demand" because of eligibility changes.
The age of eligibility for the free pneumococcal vaccine under the National Immunisation Program (NIP) was lowered from 70 to 65, and from 50 to 25 for First Nations Australians in July.
Pharmacy Guild vice president Simon Blacker told The Senior pharmacies have "burned through available stock faster than expected", but he predicted supply to start catching up within two to three months.
"ACT pharmacy stocks have been exhausted," he said. "NSW supply is now tightening too.
"It's sort of rippling across all states and territories now."
Blacker said a similar pattern occurred with Shingrix and RSV vaccines, where a new vaccine launch and expanded eligibility were followed by a surge in demand and temporary shortages.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health told The Senior while there was no national shortage of pneumococcal vaccines they were aware of some "localised distribution issues where some sites have not been supplied enough".
"The Department works closely with states and territories to support the implementation of new vaccines on the NIP," the spokesperson said.
The pneumococcal vaccine helps protect against serious illnesses including pneumonia, meningitis and bloodstream infections (bacteraemia) caused by bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus).
There are also a number of medicines commonly used by older Australians that are experiencing critical shortages.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) publishes a list of these medicines on its website.
CREON (Pancreatic Extract): Used to treat pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, commonly caused by chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic surgery, or pancreatic cancer-conditions.
