Community pharmacies across the country are preparing for the flu and Covid vaccination campaign starting today.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said that 9,400 community pharmacies in England - over 90% of the country’s total - have signed up to deliver flu vaccines, while 7,200 have signed up to participate in the Covid vaccine programme.
The NHS flu vaccine is available free of charge to pregnant women, those aged 65 and over, children aged two to three, at-risk children aged two to 18, those in “certain clinical risk groups” and those experiencing homelessness.
Read more: CSL Seqirus providing additional flu vaccines following stock disruption
People eligible for the NHS Covid vaccine include those ages 75 and over, residents in care homes for older adults and those with weakened immune systems because of a health condition or treatment.
The NPA said that patients are choosing to be vaccinated by their local pharmacy increasingly frequently.
Read more: CPE stresses need for ‘proper’ comms on Covid vaccine eligibility
In 2025/26, 28% of over-65s who received their flu vaccine did so at a pharmacy, compared to just 8% in 2019/20, according to NPA analysis of government figures.
The body added that pharmacists delivered 15% more flu jabs last year than the campaign before, an increase of almost one million flu vaccinations in just two years.
Read more: Only around half of primary school children received flu jab in 2025
And it urged the NHS to commission pharmacies to deliver more vaccination programmes.
The NPA said pharmacies could be used provide a catch-up programme for young people who missed out on their original vaccines, adding that vaccine uptake data showed a drop-off of around a quarter since the Covid pandemic.
“First port of call”
NPA chair Olivier Picard said patients “should make sure they have carefully checked they are eligible before booking through the NHS website” as eligibility for the Covid vaccine is more limited than for the flu programme.
“We’re incredibly proud of the growing role pharmacies are playing in protecting the health of the nation” he added.
“Pharmacies have vaccinated millions of patients against flu and Covid and are becoming the first port of call for a growing number of patients for vaccines.”
Picard also encouraged the NHS to “commission pharmacies to help in more vaccination campaigns, including tackling a worrying drop off in take-up among school age children since the pandemic”.
Read more: ‘Get the evidence’: MPs call for pharmacy to support vac uptake
Company Chemists’ Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison said community pharmacies provide a “convenient and accessible option” for seasonal vaccinations.
“Pharmacies have shown time and time again that they can deliver vaccination programmes at scale in a safe and accessible manner,” he added.
And Community Pharmacy England (CPE) chief executive Janet Morrison said the body would “encourage everyone who is eligible to talk to your local pharmacist today about getting you and your loved ones protected”.
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“Given the sector’s reach, accessibility and trusted relationships with patients, we believe commissioning of pharmacies to provide further NHS vaccinations would help boost uptake,” she added.
It comes after vaccine manufacturer CSL Seqirus began providing NHS England with additional flu vaccines last month following “urgent discussions” around another manufacturer’s supplies.
And it follows CPE in July stressing the need for better communication on vaccine eligibility decisions after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended another change to NHS Covid jab eligibility.
