NHS England (NHSE) has reassured pharmacy teams that flu vaccine stock “remains available to order” as it revealed yesterday (December 11) that flu hospitalisations have “surged by more than half in just one week”.
The body gave its “sincere thanks” to primary care teams for their “huge, continued efforts delivering winter vaccinations” and stressed that the work that pharmacies are doing “is more critical than ever”.
Pharmacies are “protecting individual and population health and reducing hospital admissions when the NHS needs it most”, it said, adding that this has helped to keep communities “protected”.
Read more: Which pharmacy is offering the cheapest flu jabs in 2025?
NHSE urged pharmacy teams to order flu vaccine stock “now” to “protect all eligible patients”, reminding contractors that vaccine supply is “also available from wholesalers”.
“As flu numbers rise, please assume that patients with flu-like symptoms do have flu,” it said, adding that “early prescribing with the start of symptoms is important”.
“Worst-case scenario”
It comes as the body said yesterday that the surge in flu hospitalisations is “plunging the NHS into a worst-case scenario situation”.
NHSE urged anyone who’s eligible to “get their flu vaccination to help prevent them getting seriously ill”.
And NHS national medical director Professor Meghana Pandit stressed that “vaccination is the best protection against getting potentially very ill”, adding that it also “helps protect those around you”.
Read more: Starmer gets flu jab as 4.3m get vaccinated
NHSE’s announcement about flu vaccine stock availability comes despite reports that there is a shortage of the jab.
One X user wrote earlier this week (December 10) that they turned up to their flu vaccine appointment at Boots and were told that “there is a national shortage” and they had “run out”.
But the user later confirmed that NHSE said this is a “Boots-specific problem” and that there is “no national shortage for other suppliers”.
Read more: Pharmacies to offer flu vaccines to toddlers for the first time
Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) chief executive and executive chair Dr Leyla Hannbeck also said earlier this week that independent pharmacies “across the country” are reporting a “big surge in enquiries about flu vaccinations and treatment”.
“The message to patients is clear: don’t panic, but don’t delay,” she said, adding that “community pharmacies have stock of both the adult and child flu vaccines”.
