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Community pharmacy has been described as a “key opportunity” to increase flu vaccine uptake among children and young people by Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England.
Pritchard made the comments in a letter responding to questions from the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee on the work of NHS England, including what steps it is taking to increase flu vaccination rates among children and young people.
In her response, dated 28 February 2025, Pritchard said that, for 2025/2026, exploring the use of other providers to expand convenience, including community pharmacy, was one of three “key opportunities to go further” identified by NHS England.
The flu vaccine is currently available through the NHS in pharmacies to patients aged over 18 years who meet certain criteria, but can be provided to patients outside the eligibility criteria as a private service.
Data show that flu vaccinations given in community pharmacy reached a peak in the 2022/2023 flu season, when almost 5 million vaccinations were administered.
During the 2023/2024 flu season, more than 3.7 million vaccinations were given in community pharmacy in England.
Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at Community Pharmacy England (CPE), commented: “CPE is committed to increasing the range of NHS vaccination programmes commissioned from pharmacies, including for childhood programmes.
“Some pharmacies have previously been commissioned to provide a children’s flu vaccination service to augment school vaccination programmes and this, as well as flu vaccination of pre-school children, are both areas where we believe pharmacies could support achievement of improved vaccination rates.”
Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said: “Community pharmacies are ideally placed for improving vaccination uptake due to their accessibility and medicines expertise.
“Pharmacists already play a vital role in delivering flu vaccinations to eligible adults and would welcome the expansion of this service to include children and young people.
“For this to be successful, it’s crucial pharmacists are given the support they need to deliver these services safely and effectively, helping to protect public health and ensure equal access to vaccinations in their communities.”
Gareth Jones, director of corporate affairs at the National Pharmacy Association, said: “There is significant evidence to suggest that community pharmacy is an important route to driving up uptake of vaccination, with pharmacies being convenient and accessible to patients.
“Pharmacies can play a role in helping to vaccinate children and young people, and we’d support a gradual transition to pharmacies delivering this, with the right levels of support and funding.”
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), said: “Community pharmacy plays an important role in administering flu vaccinations, but there is still a lot more that we can do.
“Pharmacies could play a greater role in vaccinating children and young people, especially among two–three-year-olds, who are not vaccinated as part of the School Age Immunisation Service.”
On 25 February 2025, a report published by the CCA on behalf of the Pharmacy Vaccinations Development Group called for community pharmacies to be mobilised as part of efforts to increase declining UK vaccination uptake rates.
According to most recent data from the UK Health Security Agency on seasonal flu vaccine uptake in school-age children in England, uptake increased slightly from 50% in 2023/2024 to 51% in 2024/2025.
In both the 2023/2024 and 2022/2023 flu seasons, the combined uptake of flu vaccinations among children aged two to three years was 44%.
Community pharmacies in Wales have been taking part in the Welsh government’s flu vaccination ‘mop-up’ programme, which was aimed to tackle low vaccination uptake.
The Pharmaceutical Journal has contacted NHS England for further details.
