The Department of Health and Social Care (DH) and NHS England (NHSE) should “expand opportunities” for pharmacies to deliver “a wider range” of respiratory vaccines as advanced services, a new report has recommended.
The Taskforce for Lung Health’s report on improving vaccine uptake for people with lung conditions in England, published yesterday, said the vaccinations should include RSV and pneumonia, along with existing flu and Covid vaccinations.
Expanding the role of community pharmacies would make vaccinations more convenient and “help address practical barriers that prevent some people from receiving recommended vaccinations”, it added.
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The report used findings from a YouGov survey of 2,288 adults living with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, bronchiectasis or pulmonary fibrosis in England.
It found that 82% trusted their local pharmacy for vaccine information, only slightly lower than the 84% who trusted both the NHS in general and their GP surgery team.
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Community pharmacies were the second most popular place to receive a vaccination, with 48% of respondents selecting this option, compared to 74% who selected their GP surgery.
Those over 55 years old were more likely to prefer their vaccination at a community pharmacy than those who were younger - and ethnic minority respondents reported lower levels of trust and confidence that pharmacies could answer questions about vaccinations, compared to White respondents.
“Now is the moment”
The report said the DH and NHSE should establish respiratory vaccination “as a national prevention priority” and commit to a respiratory modern service framework “with vaccination at its core”.
It stressed that as vaccine commissioning moves to integrated care boards (ICBs) in April 2027, “now is the moment to get this right”.
“Without national direction, today’s gaps in awareness, access and uptake risk becoming embedded as local variation,” it warned.
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Other recommendations from the report included that NHSE and the UK Health Security Agency should collect and publish vaccine uptakes among people with lung conditions “broken down by ICB, condition, deprivation and ethnicity”.
It said healthcare professionals should discuss vaccination with people with lung conditions as “a standard part of annual reviews, medication reviews and other respiratory care interactions”.
ICBs should make sure vaccination appointments are available “through a range of delivery models”, it added, and develop “targeted engagement plans” for communities where confidence in vaccines, awareness of eligibility and vaccine uptake is lower.
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The Taskforce for Lung Health also called for the DH and NHSE to give “greater prominence” to eligibility criteria and communicate any changes “clearly and in good time” in national vaccination campaigns, as well as support ICBs to deliver local campaigns “tailored to their populations”.
And it said access to vaccine eligibility information, reminders and bookings should be through a “single, easy-to-use service”, while the “planned” MyVaccines addition to the NHS app must “ensure eligible vaccinations are not missed”.
Pharmacies “must be recognised”
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) NHS services director Alastair Buxton said work on improving vaccine uptake is “of critical importance”, and it is “encouraging” to see that nearly half of the survey respondents would get vaccinated in a community pharmacy.
“Community pharmacies already play a vital role in delivering NHS vaccination programmes, and with the right commissioning and investment they can do even more to support prevention and reduce pressure on the wider NHS,” he added.
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And CPE said community pharmacies “must be recognised as a key part of these plans” and need “appropriate commissioning and funding” to support them.
It comes as DH parliamentary under-secretary of state Baroness Merron told the House of Lords yesterday that expanding access to NHS vaccinations through community pharmacy is “very much the way forward”.
And it follows the Company Chemists’ Association today publishing a report calling for the expansion of Pharmacy First to include treating adult respiratory tract infections.
