More pharmacies set to deliver booster jabs
Plan to make third vaccine more accessible could see huge increase in number of pharmacies offering doses
‘It would be helpful to have more promotion, as many people are still unaware that the pharmacy option exists’
HUNDREDS of additional pharmacies will be enlisted to deliver booster jabs under government plans to make it easier for people to be vaccinated.
With frustration mounting at the pace of the latest stage of the vaccine drive, it is understood that ministers are pushing to expand the number of pharmacies able to deliver doses to the over50s and 12 to 15-year-olds.
Just under 1,000 pharmacies are registered for the booster programme but it is expected that the number will increase by as much as 50 per cent in the coming weeks.
The Daily Telegraph understands that about 300 are going through final clearance, with a further 200 expressing interest in joining.
However, some figures in government believe that this figure could be expanded even further amid concern that people are struggling to fit in their third jab around work and other life commitments.
One senior official suggested making jabs more “accessible” was key to speeding up the rollout, adding that enrolling more high street pharmacies would provide “convenience” to people who may otherwise fail to take up the invite.
Their calls have been echoed by Andrew Lane, chairman of the National
Pharmaceutical Association, who said: “Well over 1000 pharmacies are now providing Covid boosters, but there is no good reason why thousands more can’t take part in the programme…
“The majority of people getting their Covid jab at a pharmacy are doing so through the National Booking System and some walk-ins. It would obviously be helpful to have more promotion, as many people are still unaware that the pharmacy option exists.”
Separately, a government adviser yesterday suggested that the six-month wait between second jabs and boosters could be cut.
Prof Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said the data pointed to a “sweet spot” of six months but the group would consider whether this cut-off point could be relaxed.
However, he suggested that it would be a “long time” before the JCVI would make a decision on whether to expand the booster programme to the over-40s, telling reporters: “I don’t think we need to make those decisions yet.”
Last night, Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, announced that more than 5million boosters had been delivered. A total of 4,524,517 doses have been delivered in England, along with 429,801 in Scotland, 322,591 in Wales and 43,536 in Northern Ireland.
It means around one in nine people in the UK who have received a first and second dose of the vaccine are likely to have also received a booster.
While a number of factors have been blamed for the sluggish rollout, several government figures and senior Tory MPS have privately criticised Maggie Throup, the vaccines minister, for failing to get to grips with the problem.
One senior insider claimed that in a bid to take matters into his own hands, the Prime Minister this week drafted in Nadhim Zahawi, Ms Throup’s predecessor, to provide advice on how to accelerate the rollout.
Mr Zahawi, who was promoted to Education Secretary last month, took part in a high-level meeting with the Prime Minister, Sajid Javid and Dan Rosenfield, the Number 10 chief of staff. Ms Throup was not present.
However, Downing Street insisted the meeting was a routine discussion on vaccines, including on how to speed up the rollout of jabs for 12-15 year olds. A source added Mr Zahawi had attended in his role as Education Secretary.