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Pharmacies are “ready to administer more flu jabs if needed”, community pharmacy leaders have said, following reports that GPs may stop providing the service over cost concerns.
In response to a leaked letter from the British Medical Association (BMA) to chief medical officer Chris Whitty that suggested GPs felt providing flu jabs was “no longer a financially viable option”, Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association (CCA), warned that the programme still “urgently needs additional funding”.
According to GP magazine Pulse, which has seen the letter, the BMA said: “We are already hearing from practices across the country that they do not intend to sign up for next year’s flu programme and consequently are not planning on ordering vaccine stock.”
The letter — signed by Julius Parker, deputy chair of the BMA’s general practitioners committee England — noted that costs of providing vaccinations had “risen substantially in recent years”, while funding for the programme “has remained static”, which has fallen “significantly behind inflation”.
Despite having raised the issue with NHS England, the government would only act to address the situation once practices “actively start to pull out of the programme” for financial reasons, it added.
Pulse reported that Parker said in the letter: “We believe that safeguarding and increasing uptake for these programmes should be a priority for the government and the NHS, especially in light of the risks we’ve seen in recent years from infectious diseases alongside falling rates of vaccination.”
In a statement shared with The Pharmaceutical Journal on 18 February 2026, Harrison said: “Pharmacies are ready to administer more flu jabs if needed; however, the flu vaccination programme urgently needs additional funding. The fee paid by the NHS for administering the flu jab has not kept pace with inflationary costs over the past decade.”
Pharmacies have provided flu jabs as part of the NHS England national programme since 2015, with more than 4 million adults vaccinated during the 2024/2025 season.
According to NHS Business Services Authority data, this number was surpassed within the first three months of the current season, with 4.2 million adult NHS flu jabs delivered by the end of November 2025.
Between October and November 2025, pharmacies immunised more than 40,000 children aged between two and three years as part of a pilot programme.
Harrison said: “Many patients value the accessibility and convenience of receiving their vaccines from a local pharmacy. With more pharmacies in more deprived areas, pharmacies are also well placed to drive uptake amongst underserved communities and build greater vaccine confidence.
“In time, we believe pharmacy has the potential to administer all NHS vaccines, giving the public greater choice to receive vaccines when and where they want them,” he added.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said: “Now that pharmacists are receiving a more equitable reimbursement for each NHS flu vaccination they provide, although further support is still needed to help cover community pharmacy establishment overheads compared with GP surgeries, they stand ready to fill any gap in capacity should GP surgeries step back from this service.
“Reports that some GP practices may reduce flu vaccination services next year will understandably worry patients across the UK. It is important for the public to know that they will still be able to receive their flu jab at their local community pharmacy, where trained pharmacists provide safe and convenient vaccinations without the need for a GP appointment.
“Pharmacy is ready to support the NHS, just as we did during COVID when we opened our doors to protect the public and immunised millions. We can deliver that same level of support every year for flu, ensuring patients can access vaccinations easily, protecting vulnerable people and helping to reduce pressure on overstretched health services.”
