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Pharmacies can help reform “outdated” childhood vaccination programmes as part of urgent action needed for outbreaks of preventable diseases, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has said.
In a statement published on 22 May 2026, the NPA said that it wants the NHS to commission pharmacies to provide childhood vaccinations to school-aged children to help address falling vaccination rates among teenagers.
“At the moment, vaccinations for school-age children either take place in schools or by GPs, with pharmacies not involved despite already delivering vaccinations to adults to protect against flu and COVID-19,” the statement said.
“Analysis by the NPA found that no national childhood vaccination in the UK reached the 95 per cent uptake target set by the World Health Organization, with uptake falling since 2018 for all major childhood vaccination programmes.”
The warning follows outbreaks of meningitis in Kent, Dorset and most recently in Reading. So far, three people have died after contracting the disease.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data for the meningococcal ACWY vaccine show that, in 2024/2025, 72.8% of year nine (or equivalent age) and 75.1% of year ten children had received the vaccine.
Under the diphtheria, tetanus and inactivated poliomyelitis (Td/IPV) immunisation programme, 72.4% of year nine and 74.7% of year ten children were vaccinated in 2024/2025, the data revealed.
Olivier Picard, chair of the NPA, said: “Without urgent action to tackle a dangerous and growing wave of vaccine hesitancy, we risk seeing more heartbreaking outbreaks of preventable illness that we have already seen in parts of the UK recently.
“Pharmacies stand ready and able to support the NHS to tackle this. We need reform to an outdated childhood vaccination programme, which recent evidence suggests has seen declining levels of uptake, with potentially worrying consequences.
“Our polling shows that many patients struggle to access their GP, and in some instances are not registered with a GP at all. It makes sense for pharmacies, who are highly accessible and on people’s doorsteps, to be able to help NHS colleagues deliver vaccinations.”
Heidi Wright, practice and policy lead for England at the Royal College of Pharmacy, said: “The drop in childhood vaccination uptake is a serious public health concern.
“Community pharmacies are highly accessible and trusted, and expanding their role in vaccination, particularly for catch-up programmes in older children, could help improve coverage and tackle vaccine hesitancy.
“However, this must be part of a coordinated NHS approach, with the right commissioning, funding, integration with existing school and GP services in place, along with a clear focus on equitable access to reach those most of risk of missing out on their vaccinations.”
As well as involving pharmacies in the school-age vaccination programmes, the NPA wants to see pharmacies able to offer catch-up vaccinations to teenagers who didn’t receive the vaccine earlier, the statement said.
In February 2026, the government announced that as part of the ‘National cancer plan for England‘, pharmacies will offer ‘catch-up’ human papillomavirus vaccinations from 2026 for young people who missed doses at school.
NHS England said that its updated GP contract for 2026/2027 offers general practice in England more financial incentives for delivering childhood vaccinations, particularly those who can demonstrate “meaningful and sustained improvement in vaccination uptake”.
