English pharmacists have vaccinated almost 300,000 flu patients in the first 34 days of the national scheme, dwarfing last year's vaccination figures, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has revealed.

More than 287,000 vaccinations have been delivered since September – almost 55,000 more than the sector delivered through local schemes across the whole of the last flu season, PSNC said on Tuesday (October 20).

However, only two-thirds of contractors have notified NHS England that they will deliver the flu service, said PSNC, which called upon the remainder to sign up "as soon as possible".

"There are a number of reasons why some contractors have not yet been able to start offering vaccinations – such as waiting to complete their training – but we hope to see the figure increasing as we go through the season," PSNC director of NHS services Alastair Buxton told C+D.

It is “fantastic” to see so many vaccines delivered “despite the short notice of the service and the wait for NHS England to publish the necessary documentation”, he added.
 

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