UKHSA have published their evaluation of the RSV early adopter programme, which tested the delivery of RSV vaccinations through community pharmacies, exploring how pharmacy-led services can support the NHS in reaching more people.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the Company Chemists’ Association said:
“We welcome UKHSA’s evaluation of the RSV early adopter programme, which provides further evidence of the important role community pharmacy plays in extending the reach of NHS vaccination services.
The pilot highlights the considerable potential of community pharmacy. Achieving this level of impact on short notice is impressive. Even greater benefits could be realised with expanded commissioning, a longer lead-in, and time for services to fully embed.
Pharmacy-led vaccination programmes have the potential to deliver substantial benefits, particularly by improving access and addressing inequalities amongst underserved communities.
The government should build on the impact demonstrated in this pilot and commission community pharmacies to administer a whole range of NHS vaccinations.”
Background
- In autumn 2024, NHS England agreed to commission 50 ‘early-adopter’ community pharmacies (CPs) across 2 integrated care boards (ICBs) in the East of England (EoE) to supplement RSV vaccination for older adults and pregnant women.
- Following a tender process, 37 pharmacies participated and administered a total of 8,900 RSV vaccine doses between 1 October 2024 to 20 February 2025. This was the equivalent of 12% of all RSV vaccinations delivered across the two pilot ICBs.
- Throughput per pharmacy (241 doses) was closely aligned with throughput in GP practices (266 doses per practice.