Community pharmacy has been providing flu vaccinations under a nationally commissioned service since September 2015, as part of the NHS seasonal flu vaccination campaign that runs from September to March.

This year, the government announced that everyone aged 50 and over would be among those offered a free flu vaccination, reversing their previous decision that those aged between 50 and 64 would not be included.

Read more: NHS England scraps free flu jabs for 50-64-year-olds in 2022/23 season

Contractors will be paid £9.58 for each vaccine administered. And they will be reimbursed for the vaccine cost at the basic price (list price) of the individual vaccine administered, with an allowance at the applicable VAT rate also paid.

Dimple Bhatia is superintendent pharmacist director at Tollesbury Pharmacy in Maldon, Essex, and has been offering a private flu vaccination service in the pharmacy for the last 13 years, as well as the NHS service since 2015.

Although the service is a success, he expects contractors will make less money from private flu vaccinations this season. He explains: "We charge £15 for a private flu jab as we are buying them for about £10 each."

Read more: Which pharmacies administered the most flu jabs last season?

However "as the eligibility criteria for this year is people aged 50 and over, that will cover a lot of people who used to pay, so the amount we make from private flu vaccinations will be minimal this year," he adds.

Measures of success

Tollesbury Pharmacy makes use of social media, as well as posters and window signage, to attract customers. Last year the pharmacy introduced a 100% paperless booking system that encouraged patients to complete an online flu vaccination form before coming in for their jab.

Mr Bhatia says "jab and go" proved popular, with "many positive comments on our Twitter and Facebook feeds".

Read more: VIDEO: C+D visits Seqirus’s flu vaccine manufacturing site 

A clear measure of success for any flu service is repeat business, he points out. "People keep coming back so they must trust us," he says. "Plus apparently I’m known for not giving painful injections, which is nice."

"And of course it also brings in new customers, which give pharmacists and their teams the opportunity to showcase the pharmacy and other services at the same time," he continues.

Service promotion 

Read more: PSNC: Pharmacies could become ‘prime location’ for range of vaccinations 

Challenges and solutions

Read more: Pharmacies in England administered almost 4.8 million flu jabs in 2021/22, PSNC confirms 

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