A new report by the Company Chemists’ Association urges NHS England to commission pharmacies to deliver more vaccinations, to reverse dwindling uptake and free up GP capacity and hospital beds.
The report highlights that:
- Pharmacies have administered over 42 million Covid vaccinations between December 2020 and August 2024[1], more than a quarter of the 165 million Covid vaccines delivered so far.
- In spring 2024, more than half of all Covid vaccinations given to Black/Black British, Asian/Asian British and mixed and Chinese or other ethnicity groups were administered in pharmacies.
- In 2023/24 no childhood vaccines met the World Health Organisation (WHO) target coverage rate of 95%.
Read the CCA’s report on vaccination and inequalities here
With more pharmacies in areas of higher deprivation[2], their convenient locations and extended opening hours, pharmacies provide accessible care to patients, particularly those in underserved communities.
The CCA’s report highlights how in spring 2024, a significant proportion of Covid vaccines were administered to ethnicity groups previously reported to have higher levels of vaccine hesitancy[3][4].
Previous research has found that pharmacy colleagues are considered to be trusted sources of information, holding strong relationships with the local community[5]. Moreover, the study found that patients attend pharmacies 12 times more frequently than GPs.
The Government has pledged to rollout three big shifts as part of its upcoming 10-year plan (expected spring 2025), including moving from ‘sickness to prevention’[6]. Vaccinations are already proven to be one of the most successful and cost-effective ways to prevent ill-health[7].
The CCA is urging NHS England to commission pharmacies to deliver a wide range of NHS vaccinations – including pneumonia, shingles, meningitis, RSV and other routine childhood vaccinations. Taken together, this would free up 10 million GP vaccination appointments each year[8], allowing GPs to focus on delivering care to patients with more complex care needs.
Commissioning pharmacies to take on a greater role in vaccination delivery would ensure better reach to underserved communities, increase uptake and free up GP capacity and hospital beds at a critical time for the NHS.
Case study: Harnessing community pharmacy to increase the uptake of the MMR vaccine in the Northwest England
Following a worrying rise in cases of measles in Northwest England, a pharmacy MMR vaccine programme was commissioned earlier this year.
NHS figures showed that nearly one in six children had not received both doses of the MMR vaccine by the age of five[9]. Both doses give long-term protection against measles, mumps and rubella, which can cause serious illness and complications such as blindness and meningitis.
People over the age of 5 who have not had both doses of the MMR vaccines can get fully protected by vising one of the 43 pharmacies across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside and Lancashire and South Cumbria.
This programme harnesses the accessibility of pharmacies and aims to increase uptake of the MMR vaccine in areas where people are at higher risk.
Company Chemists’ Association Chief Executive Malcolm Harrison said: “Vaccines are one of the most effective tools in our armoury to prevent ill-health.
Pharmacies have proven time and time again that they can boost uptake and confidence in vaccination, especially amongst underserved communities.
Pharmacies could deliver 10 million more vaccinations each year – freeing up GP capacity and hospital beds, but also ensuring patients and members of the public could be vaccinated where and when they want.
NHS England must now build on community pharmacy’s track record in the flu and Covid-19 vaccination programme, and commission pharmacies to administer a whole range of NHS vaccines”.
[1] NHS England, Freedom of Information Request to NHS England (Data after September 2022), 2023
[2] Todd, A, Copeland, Husband A, et al. The positive pharmacy care law: an area-level analysis of the relationship between community pharmacy distribution, urbanity and social deprivation in England: BMJ Open, 2014 Aug 12;4(8):e005764
[3] Hussain B, Latif A, Timmons S, Nkhoma K, Nellums LB. Overcoming COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among ethnic minorities: A systematic review of UK studies.v Vaccine. 2022 May 31;40(25):3413-3432. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.04.030. Epub 2022 Apr 28. PMID: 35534309; PMCID: PMC9046074.
[4] ONS, Coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy, Great Britain, 2021
[5] Maidment I, Young E, MacPhee M, et al, Rapid realist review of the role of community pharmacy in the public health response to COVID-19, BMJ Open 2021;11:e050043. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-050043
[6] DHSC, Government issues rallying cry to the nation to help fix NHS, October 2024
[7] UNICEF, Immunization is one of the most successful and cost-effective public health investments we can make for future generations, April 2016
[8] CCA, CCA Prospectus – a future for community pharmacy, 2022
[9] NHS Cheshire and Merseyside, Parents across the North West urged to get children MMR jab as nearly one in six not fully vaccinated, September 2024