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Pharmacy teams have experienced anger from patients following “major issues” with booking COVID-19 vaccinations via the national vaccinations booking system, Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has said.
In a statement published on 3 October 2025, CPE said it had received reports of “high numbers of ineligible people presenting for COVID-19 vaccinations who had booked appointments via the national booking system”.
“The significant change in the eligibility of patients for COVID-19 vaccination this winter compared with last winter is the key issue that is creating confusion amongst members of the public,” the statement said.
“Many of those aged under 75 years who were eligible for vaccination last winter seem to have assumed that they are still eligible and have booked appointments at pharmacies via the national booking system, despite the wording on the booking system relating to eligibility.”
CPE also said it had received reports from pharmacy owners of ineligible patients being directed to pharmacies by staff at general practices.
“All of this is having a significant impact on pharmacy teams providing the COVID-19 vaccination service, with many pharmacy owners reporting that a third to half of patients booked via the national booking system are not eligible for vaccination,” CPE said.
It added that this was resulting in pharmacy teams having to spend a large amount of unfunded time explaining the situation to patients.
“In many cases, patients are upset about not being eligible for vaccination or are angry and sometimes abusive to pharmacy team members,” CPE said.
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, commented: “This should have been avoidable and it is deeply frustrating for both pharmacies and patients. We urge any patient in this situation to treat pharmacy teams with respect as pharmacies try and manage the new NHS clinical criteria.
“We’ve urgently raised this issue with NHS England and the Department of Health [and Social Care] and have asked for it be resolved as soon as possible.”
CPE said it had raised the issue with NHS England and asked them to take a series of actions as a “matter of urgency”, including:
- Changing the wording on the booking system to highlight that eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination has changed for winter 2025/2026;
- Ensuring links to further information on eligibility for vaccination are prominently displayed on booking screens; and
- Messaging patients who have already booked appointments to highlight the changes in eligibility and that this will be checked at the pharmacy.
The NHS 2025/2026 COVID-19 vaccination programme for England began on 1 October 2025. Patients eligible for the vaccine are: patients aged 75 years or over; patients aged between 6 months and 74 years who have a weakened immune system; and patients living in a care home for older adults.
During the 2024/2025 programme, all adults aged 65 years and over were eligible for the vaccine.
In November 2024, a report from the Company Chemists’ Association revealed that community pharmacies delivered more than half of all COVID-19 vaccines to Black/Black British, Asian/Asian British and mixed ethnicity groups during the spring 2024 vaccination programme.
A spokesperson for NHS England told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation decides who is eligible for a COVID vaccination and, this winter, it is those aged 75 [years] or over, anyone with a weakened immune system, or those living in older adult care homes, which is made clear when you book online.
“If you are at risk, it is vital that you come forward to get vaccinated as soon as possible — you should check your eligibility before self-declaring and booking an appointment, and there is information about which conditions and medicines make you eligible on our website.”
