doctor_k / Shutterstock.com
People in England will be able to book community pharmacy flu vaccinations earlier than usual this season, NHS England has announced.
The National Booking Service (NBS), which allows people to find a community pharmacy offering the NHS flu vaccination service and book an appointment to receive the vaccine, will open on 17 August 2026. In 2025, it opened on 1 September.
The earlier opening, announced by NHS England in an operational letter on 2 July 2026, was agreed in response to a request from Community Pharmacy England (CPE) “following feedback on this from pharmacy owners”.
Alastair Buxton, director of NHS services at CPE, said: “We are pleased that NHS England agreed to our request to open NBS earlier for the autumn/winter vaccination programme.
“Pharmacy owners have wanted NBS to open earlier, as in previous years they have received requests from patients to book the vaccination appointments before NBS has opened.”
Malcolm Harrison, chief executive of the Company Chemists’ Association, said: “This is something we have previously called for, as earlier booking should help both pharmacy teams and the public plan ahead, and we know that people start thinking of flu well before autumn and winter.
“Ensuring pharmacies are clearly visible through NHS channels is essential, so patients can easily find and book appointments.
“Full integration of the National Booking Service across community pharmacy is essential to reduce administrative burden for teams and make access to vaccination as straightforward as possible for patients.”
The vaccination programme will start from 1 September 2026 for children, pregnant women and some adults, or as soon as the vaccine is available, the letter confirmed, with other cohorts being able to receive the vaccine from 1 October 2026.
NHS England added that it would “support community pharmacy providers to fully engage with the national profile manager service to maintain accurate and up‑to‑date walk‑in information”.
“Commissioners should ensure community pharmacies offering two- and three-year-old flu vaccinations are clearly identifiable on the NBS and the ‘find a flu service’ and also advertised to the public ‘in-store’”.
The letter has also set out ambitions to increase coverage rates over the next three years.
“We want to work with trusts and [integrated care boards] to finalise the national targets for all groups this year so that they are deliberately ambitious and stretching. There is still unacceptable variation between regions and providers.”
The biggest three-year coverage target is among front line healthcare workers: by autumn/winter 2028 the target is 65% coverage, up from 47% coverage in 2025.
The second biggest target is among primary-school aged children, also with an objective of 65% coverage — up from 51% coverage the previous year.
During 2025/2026, community pharmacies in England provided 4,680,891 flu vaccines under the adult seasonal influenza vaccination service: an increase of 15% compared with the 2024/2025 season.
