We must be 10 minutes – not 10 miles – from a jab

We were pleased, last week, to hear that there were plans for a mass vaccine ‘supercentre’ at St James’ Hospital in Milton. The government can be criticised for many things in this pandemic, including the stilllimping test and trace service, but at least it is alive to the importance of vaccinations.

And dedicating large buildings such as St James’ to this schedule is sensible, and the sooner we see it operational, the better.

However, this shouldn’t be the end of the story. This week The News, along with its sister titles across the launched a campaign to see pharmacies involved in the vaccine roll-out. While the government wants to see everyone living within 10 miles of a vaccine hub, we think the country could – and should be more ambitious. There are plenty of pharmacies in every town and city in the country, so why shouldn’t we use the expertise of pharmacists, who dispense flu jabs every winter, to make the vaccine as accessible as possible to all?

The issue of the first approved vaccine, that manufactured by Pfizer, needing to be exceptionally cold does not apply to the Oxford-developed one. That argument no longer holds water.

And arguably more important than the practicalities is the general sense that we, as a country, need to see this vaccine become part of daily life. We may need to see regular immunisations, and we certainly need to see as many people as possible vaccinated as quickly as possible. It needs to be as easy to reach as a flu vaccination in high street chemist or in a supermarket pharmacy, and it needs to be as easy to book as that.

By all means let's create vaccine hubs processing large numbers, but the government must realise that they have an army of pharmacists willing to help – and that if people are 10 minutes rather than 10 miles away from vaccination it will serve the country far better in the long run.