News | Infectious diseases

News

Pharmacy bodies call for ‘immediate intervention’ from health secretary to halt flu vaccinations delay

Community Pharmacy England has also written to ministers warning of "administrative chaos" for pharmacies and that "hundreds of thousands" of patients may miss out on vaccines if the flu vaccination service begins in October.…

Published: 10 August 2023

News

Change to flu vaccination programme start date ‘extremely frustrating’, say negotiators

Community Pharmacy England has said a delayed start date to the flu vaccination programme could affect patients who have booked an early jab, and pharmacies that have ordered vaccines based on the usual 1 September start date.…

Published: 7 August 2023

Opinion

Lest we forget lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic

The pick of the month’s academic papers from Parastou Donyai, chief scientist at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society.…

Published: 31 July 2023

News

Record number of items dispensed using serious shortage protocols during penicillin shortage

Exclusive: Community pharmacists dispensed almost 13,000 items using a serious shortage protocol in December 2022, nearly double that of the previous peak.…

Published: 24 July 2023

News

Welsh government working group tasked with looking into how to roll out PrEP provision to community pharmacies

The HIV action plan, published in June 2022, set out 26 actions for the Welsh government and its partners to reduce HIV transmissions in Wales.…

Published: 14 July 2023

News

Community pharmacy delivers more than 5 million flu vaccinations for the first time

The Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed it is considering expanding the National Flu Vaccination Service to secondary school-aged children in England.…

Published: 19 June 2023

News

Metformin may reduce the risk of developing long COVID, research suggests

The diabetes drug reduced the incidence of long COVID compared with placebo, but experts have urged caution over the findings.…

Published: 15 June 2023

Opinion

Community pharmacies have an essential role in sustaining the elimination of hepatitis C in England

Pharmacies can provide easy access to hepatitis C testing for people who inject drugs, helping to control infection rates and allow the elimination of the virus in England by 2025.…

Published: 7 June 2023

News

National pilots for PrEP access from community pharmacies recommended by government advisers

Exclusive: Health minister Lord Markham said the recommendations of the 'PrEP access and equity task and finish group' were being considered and plans would be made available in 2023.…

Published: 25 April 2023

Feature

Antibiotic resistance: is it time to get serious about point-of-care testing?

There is solid evidence from other countries that point-of-care testing before prescribing antibiotics for respiratory tract and other infections helps to combat antimicrobial resistance, but experts say the UK is far behind.…

Published: 23 February 2023