Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has stressed the need for better communication on vaccine eligibility decisions after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended another change to NHS Covid jab eligibility.
On July 16, the JCVI recommended that the age of eligibility for the autumn 2027 Covid vaccination programme be raised from 75-plus to 80-plus.
This follows changes made last June where, in line with JCVI recommendations, the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) raised the age of eligibility for autumn adult Covid jabs from 65-plus to 75-plus.
Read more: IPA ‘madness’ over Covid jab availability restrictions
The changes led to many pharmacy owners last October reporting that “a third to half of patients [who] booked via the national booking system” were in fact ineligible for the vaccine.
The chaos resulted in patients being upset, angry, confused and sometimes even “abusive” towards pharmacy staff when they were denied the jab, CPE said.
The negotiator urged NHS England at the time to improve its communications to the public about eligibility for the vaccine “as a matter of urgency”.
Read more: Pharmacies face COVID jab chaos after ‘reckless’ rule change
Now, following the JCVI’s recommendations for this autumn’s programme, CPE has called for NHS decisions on vaccine eligibility to be “properly communicated to the public” to ensure “pharmacy teams are not left dealing with people who are angry that they cannot receive a vaccination they thought they were allowed.”
CPE called vaccinations “one of community pharmacy’s greatest public health success stories”, but warned that “the operational complexity of rolling out vaccination programmes has frequently placed additional burdens on pharmacy owners”.
“While policy needs to be led by scientific evidence, implementation of public vaccination programmes is not made easier by ever-changing eligibility criteria and poor communication of this to patients and the public,” it added.
“Deeply disappointing”
Meanwhile, Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) chief executive Dr Leyla Hannbeck said it was “deeply disappointing” that access to NHS Covid jabs “remains so restricted”.
She added that “just like last year”, community pharmacies may “have to turn away people who want to protect themselves because they do not meet the eligibility criteria”.
Read more: Pharmacy compensation for Covid jab chaos ‘not available’, NHSE says
“If someone wants to protect themselves against Covid ahead of winter, they should be able to do so through their local pharmacy on the NHS,” Hannbeck said.
“At a time when we should be preventing illness and easing pressure on the NHS, it makes little sense to limit access to one of the most effective public health interventions we have. The government should trust community pharmacies to do what they do best: protect patients and keep people healthy.”
Read more: Almost half of autumn Covid jabs given by pharmacies, says DH
It comes after the DH accepted the JCVI’s recommendation to extend RSV vaccine eligibility to adults aged 65 to 74 with a chronic respiratory disease or a suppressed immune system, with newly eligible adults qualifying for the vaccine from September.
And it follows the one-off MenB vaccination service launching today amid concerns that pharmacies have not been properly supported in the rollout.
