Pharmacies ‘ready, willing and able’ to administer Covid jabs
‘THIRD PILLAR OF NHS’ STILL WAITING FOR CALL TO JOIN VACCINE ROLL-OUT IN NOTTS
CALLS are being made for community pharmacies across Nottinghamshire to be allowed to vaccinate people against Covid.
At the moment there are no pharmacies in the county included in the vaccine roll-out.
Locally, the NHS has opened vaccination centres which residents are able to visit by appointment only once they have received a letter. So far a total of 49,336 people had been vaccinated as of January 17.
This compares to 70,332 people vaccinated in Derbyshire by the same date, with Nottingham and Nottinghamshire had the lowest vaccine numbers in the East Midlands.
Nottinghamshire’s NHS said it is working to support the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in pharmacies but no dates for this have been announced.
Labour MP for Nottingham South, Lilian Greenwood, told the Post: “We all want the Covid vaccine to be rolled out as swiftly and as safely as possible.
“I’d very much welcome greater use of community pharmacies - being able to get their jab close to home, from someone residents know and trust, could help to maximise take up of the vaccine.
“Having extra vaccination centres will only help to speed up the roll-out if they have supplies of the vaccine they need.”
Tendekai Mukoko, Rowlands Pharmacy regional leader, said: “Collectively the community pharmacy network across England can help administer millions of vaccines at a local level, demonstrated by having the capability to administer more than two million flu vaccinations this winter.
“A growing number of customers can’t understand why they can get a flu jab at Rowlands and not a Covid-19 vaccine.
“Many of our most clinically vulnerable patients are finding it difficult to arrange travel to a regional mass vaccination centre and would welcome the opportunity to get their jab at their local pharmacy down the road.
“As a vital third pillar of the NHS, community pharmacy is ideally placed to help alleviate the pressures on local hospitals, vaccination sites and GPS currently delivering the vaccine, so why not let as many community pharmacies as possible help now to meet the 15 million target vaccinations by February?
“We’re here, ready, willing and able to help administer more vaccinations as soon and as quickly as possible.” Nottinghamshire-based pharmaceutical giant Boots currently has no pharmacies or vaccines centres giving out the jab in the county.
But it has opened a site in Halifax and Gloucester, with Huddersfield also confirmed.
On the further roll-out of vaccination centres, a Boots spokesperson told the Post: “We continue to work closely with the NHS and discussions are under way on the potential to expand this service to more mass vaccination sites in the coming months.
“But it is too early to discuss possible locations at the moment.”
A spokesperson for the NHS in Nottinghamshire added: “We are working with NHS England and Improvement to support the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in pharmacies across the city and county.”
The community pharmacy network can help administer millions of vaccines at a local level.
Tendekai Mukoko