The CCA welcomes the decision to commission community pharmacy to administer flu vaccines to two and three-year olds during the winter programme.
Malcolm Harrison, Chief Executive of the CCA said: “This is a vote of confidence for the role of community pharmacy in driving uptake and coverage of NHS vaccines, particularly amongst underserved communities”.
He added: “This is testament to the hard work of the ‘Pharmacy Vaccinations Development Group’ which brings together officials across the Department, NHS and UKHSA together with all parts of the supply chain. Since 2024, the Group has been working to develop practical solutions to expand community pharmacy’s role in vaccination delivery, building on the sector’s track record in the flu and covid vaccination programmes”.1
The announcement comes off the back of the government’s 10-year plan for the NHS which announced that from 2026, women and young people who missed out on the HPV vaccination at school will be able to have the vaccine administered at their local pharmacy. The Plan also pledged to ‘give community pharmacy a bigger role in prevention by expanding their role in vaccine delivery’.2
Harrison continued: “We estimate that around 80% of pharmacies have a private vaccination service so pharmacy teams are well versed in administering a wide range of different vaccines.1 Vaccines are second only to clean water in preventing disease.3 All efforts to drive uptake are absolutely critical to delivering on the prevention agenda”.
References
1 – CCA, New report calls for community pharmacies to be harnessed to combat falling vaccine uptake, 25 February 2025
2 – Department of Health and Social Care, Fit for the Future: 10 Year Health Plan for England, 3 July 2025
3 – Oxford Vaccine Group, The Global Value of Vaccination, 27 June 2019
About the Pharmacy Vaccinations Development Group
- The Pharmacy Vaccinations Development Group (PVDG) provides a dedicated forum for stakeholders involved in the design, manufacture, commissioning, and provision of vaccination programmes. The group’s sole purpose is to improve access and uptake of vaccines across GB. The group is working to establish the model for commissioning, promoting, and delivering vaccination programmes in community pharmacy.
- Earlier this year, the CCA hosted a reception in parliament for the Pharmacy Vaccines Development Group which launched a report calling for community pharmacies to be harnessed to combat falling vaccine uptake.
- Members of the PVDG include representatives from AAH, ASDA, Alliance Healthcare, Boots, the General Pharmaceutical Council, National Pharmacy Association, Numark, Pharmacy2U, Phoenix Medical, Rowlands Pharmacy, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, Superdrug, Tesco and Well. The group is sponsored by: GSK, Pfizer, MSD and Viatris. The group is also attended by representatives from the Department of Health and Social Care, NHS England and the UK Health Security Agency.
Notes to editors
- From 1st October 2025, children aged 2-3 years old will be able to receive flu vaccines from community pharmacies.
- ‘Fit for the Future’, the government’s 10-year health plan pledged to “give community pharmacy a bigger role in prevention by expanding their role in vaccine delivery”.
- The 10-year health plan announced that from 2026, women and young people who missed out on the HPV vaccination at school will be able to have the vaccine administered at their local pharmacy.