The Department of Health and Social Care (DH) this week (April 14) announced that NHS England (NHSE) will increase the number of community pharmacies offering the RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine in 2025/26.
The commissioner will “expand and support evaluation of the community pharmacy vaccination offer by up to 200 sites in identified target areas”, the DH said.
Read more: NHSE seeks pharmacies for RSV and whooping cough jab service
“NHSE will work to reverse the downward trend in uptake for all vaccination programmes, including eligible adults and pregnant women, and for children and young people year-on-year towards World Health Organization (WHO) recommended levels,” it added.
Revealed as part of guidance on the NHS public health functions agreement for 2025/26, the move will ensure that “everyone in the [RSV] catch-up cohort who was aged 75 to 79 years old on September 1 2024 is offered vaccination by August 31 2025”, the DH said.
And NHSE will also “maintain the ongoing catch-up and year-round RSV programme offer to those turning 75 years old and pregnant women from 28 weeks”, it added.
“Increase access”
The Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) said that 50 early adopter community pharmacy sites were commissioned to provide the jabs in the East of England from September – meaning the pilot could expand to as many as 250 sites in total.
CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said that he was “pleased” to see this expansion, adding that “pharmacies can increase access and convenience for patients so they can receive vaccines when and where they want them”.
Read more: Boots launches £245 private RSV vaccination service
But he urged NHSE to “continue to expand the number of pharmacies included in the programme at pace”, noting that “community pharmacies already have an excellent track record of administering the flu and COVID-19 vaccines”.
“We urge that pharmacies are commissioned to deliver a wider range of NHS vaccines nationally including RSV, pneumonia, shingles, meningitis and routine childhood vaccinations,” Harrison said, estimating that together this could “free up 10 million GP appointments each year”.
Commissioning community pharmacies
It comes after NHSE and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced in June that a “number of” community pharmacies would be commissioned to deliver the RSV vaccine to “older adults” – although the number remained unclear at the time.
Patients aged 75 to 79 as well as all women who are at least 28 weeks pregnant can receive a single dose of the RSV vaccine from September 1, it said at the time.
Read more: RSV vaccine programme to roll out in pharmacies this autumn
Meanwhile, NHSE announced last month that it was looking for “up to 66” pharmacy sites in the Midlands to offer an RSV and pertussis – also known as whooping cough – vaccination service.
And Boots launched a £245 private RSV vaccination service in 75 stores across the UK in November for those “who are not eligible for a free NHS vaccination” but want to protect themselves from the virus.
