Health news round-up: vaccinations off-site, child health and medicines shortages

This week, a new lupus treatment was approved that “significantly outperforms” current options; a finger-prick test to screen children for type 1 diabetes mellitus was proven to be “both feasible and acceptable”; and the government published data suggesting the UK is meeting two-thirds of its targets for clinical trials.

Read on for more clinical news from the week.

Increased vaccination access through pharmacies

The regulations around who can provide vaccinations, and where, protect patient safety and ensure equitable service; however, this week, the community pharmacy sector has welcomed legislative changes that will enable them to provide more vaccinations off-site, helping them reach more patients.

Other professions also support these changes. In a submission to a parliamentary report on child health, published on 21 January 2026 by the Health and Social Care Select Committee, the Royal College of Nursing highlighted the importance of vaccination access through pharmacies.

Maternal, neonatal and child health

The same report also contained a submission from neonatal charity Bliss that highlighted a shortage of neonatal pharmacists. A recent investigation by The Pharmaceutical Journal into neonatal pharmacist staffing came to the same conclusion, finding that three-quarters of hospital trusts in Great Britain did not meet Neonatal and Paediatric Pharmacy Group staffing standards.

It comes as the national maternity and neonatal investigation launched a call for evidence, asking people who have been pregnant or who have supported someone who is to share their experiences of maternity and neonatal services. The call for evidence is open until 17 March 2026.

Shortages and alerts

In the past week, all forms of aspirin were added to the government’s list of medicines that cannot be exported from the UK or hoarded. A survey carried out by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found that more than eight in ten pharmacies reported being unable to supply aspirin to their patients this month.

Some pharmacies have said they have stopped making aspirin available for over-the-counter sales, while others said they have been tightly rationing supplies of aspirin for those patients with the most acute heart conditions or those in need of emergency prescriptions. When stock is available, pharmacies dispense it a loss of £1.72 a packet, the NPA estimates, based on a wholesale cost of £3.90 (up from 18p last year) and NHS reimbursement of £2.18 for a packet of Aspirin 75mg dispersible tablets.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has issued a class two medicines recall this week for paliperidone pre-filled syringes, as a precautionary measure, owing to Good Manufacturing Practice deficiencies cited during a recent inspection at the finished product manufacturing site. Pharmacies should stop supplying specified batches, while pharmacy and home care teams should, where appropriate, contact patients to advise them to contact their prescriber for a review to ensure that an alternative product is available, without delaying their treatment. Manufacturer Mercury Pharmaceuticals said there may be delays in the manufacture of future batches.