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The pharmacy COVID-19 vaccination service will become an advanced service from 1 April 2026, NHS England has announced.
In its service specification for community pharmacy COVID-19 and flu services 2026/2027, published on 15 December 2025, NHS England said community pharmacies will be able to offer either COVID-19 and the adult flu vaccination services together, or just the flu vaccination service.
The change means that integrated care boards will no longer need to separately procure a COVID-19 vaccination service. The service will instead align with the flu vaccination services.
NHS England has also confirmed the COVID-19 vaccination item of service fees will increase for 2026/2027, from £7.54 to £8.70 during the flu vaccination campaign season between 1 September 2026 and 31 January 2027, while the service fee outside the campaign season will rise to £10.06.
The adult flu item of service fee for 2026/2027 will also increase, from £9.58 to £10.06, bringing the fees in line with GP arrangements.
NHS England said that pharmacy owners who want to provide the COVID-19 service must register to provide both the COVID-19 and flu vaccination services. To provide vaccines from the start of the spring campaign season on 13 April 2026, they must register between 5 January and 2 February 2026, it said.
Pharmacy owners will need to continue to use the national booking service for COVID-19 vaccination; however, this will still not be a requirement for flu. They must obtain agreement from their commissioner to administer vaccines away from the pharmacy premises.
Commenting on the announcement, Janet Morrison, chief executive of Community Pharmacy England (CPE), said: “CPE is pleased that community pharmacies will now receive the same vaccination fees as GP practices after many years of calling for parity.
“The [CPE] committee has also secured concessions, such as keeping the national booking system optional for flu vaccinations and allowing the use of local appointment systems.
“These changes should help planning for future vaccination seasons and provide a long-overdue fee increase for seasonal vaccinations starting in April 2026.”
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Independent Pharmacies Association, said: “This year’s flu epidemic has underlined just how vital it is to vaccinate as many people as possible, and this announcement will significantly support pharmacies to deliver more flu vaccinations by ending pay disparity between pharmacists and GPs for delivering the same service.”
On 15 December 2025, the government confirmed that it had accepted recommendations from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on eligibility for the spring 2026 COVID-19 vaccination programme, which remain unchanged from 2025.
