NHSE has announced fee uplifts for both Covid and adult flu vaccinations in community pharmacies over the 2026/27 season.
In a new joint service specification published yesterday (December 15), NHSE said the service fee for adult flu jabs will rise from £9.58 to £10.06 from next April, an increase of 5%, bringing it “in line with the GP arrangements”.
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It added that the service fee for Covid jabs will increase to £8.70 for each vaccine administered between next September and January 31, 2027, while the flu vaccination campaign is underway, and to £10.06 when the campaign is not running.
But “there will no longer be an additional £10 payment for the administration of Covid vaccinations to housebound people”, the body said.
Advanced service
NHSE also announced that Covid vaccinations will become an advanced service from April.
It said that “as is the case now”, pharmacy owners wanting to provide Covid vaccinations will also have to deliver flu jabs, but contractors “can still sign up to only deliver the adult flu vaccination service”.
Pharmacies offering Covid jabs must use the National Booking Service (NBS) for appointments, it added, while using the NBS for flu vaccinations is “strongly encouraged” but not required.
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The body said commissioners may ask pharmacy owners to vaccinate patients away from the pharmacy premises - such as those who are housebound or in a care home - but they “do not need to agree” to deliver these vaccinations.
And it added that pharmacy owners must register for the spring Covid campaign between January 5 and February 2 to “ensure that they receive supply” in time.
“Long overdue”
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison said the negotiator is “pleased” that community pharmacies are set to receive the same fees as GP practices “after many years of calling for parity”.
She added that its committee has also “secured concessions” like “keeping the NBS optional for flu vaccinations and allowing the use of local appointment systems”.
“These changes should help planning for future vaccination seasons and provide a long overdue fee increase for seasonal vaccinations starting in April 2026,” she said.
Read more: Which pharmacies are cheapest for private Covid jabs in 2025?
It comes after CPE announced in August that the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) had imposed a frozen service fee for the upcoming NHS adult flu vaccination programme.
The negotiator said at the time that the pharmacy fee will remain at £9.58 - the same as that paid in the previous six flu seasons - following the DH’s “refusal to increase” it.
And NHSE this month reassured pharmacy teams that flu vaccine stock “remains available to order” after revealing that flu hospitalisations have “surged by more than half in just one week”.
