Infectious diseases

Community pharmacies in 2024/2025 administered highest number of flu vaccinations outside of pandemic

Of the 4 million flu vaccinations delivered by community pharmacies in England during the 2024/2025 flu season, data show that 11% were administered in the most deprived areas.…

UK issues first guideline on post-exposure prophylaxis for syphilis

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV has highlighted research that shows how doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis reduces syphilis cases by 80%.…

Walk-in flu vaccine finder for community pharmacy to be launched for 2025/2026 flu season

NHS England said the “flu walk-in finder” was developed in response to patient feedback that complained of restrictions to the national booking service and a lack of information on clinic times.…

Pharmacy flu vaccine delivery to over-65s increased by 20 percentage points in five years

Data from the UK Health Security Agency show that since 2019/2020, the proportion of vaccines administered to at-risk patients via community pharmacies rose from 11.4% to 26.7%.…

Test your knowledge of dermatological conditions

One in four people in England and Wales visit their GP about a dermatological condition each year. Here, test your knowledge of these common conditions and their management.…

C. difficile cases increase by one-third over three years, government data show

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that a three-year increase in Clostridioides difficile infections in England was observed across all seven UKHSA regions.…

Neonatal sepsis: prevention and management

The third article in a series on complications associated with prematurity and unwell neonates.…

Antibiotic could help tackle drug-resistant gonorrhoea, study results suggest

Researchers found that gepotidacin was as effective as the current recommended first-line therapy for gonorrhoea.…

Community pharmacies in England could offer ‘catch-up’ HPV vaccinations

Updated NHS plans to eliminate cervical cancer have suggested community pharmacy as a location for catch-up vaccinations to improve access to the HPV vaccine.…

Medicines derived from UK blood plasma distributed to NHS hospitals for ‘first time in a generation’

More than 250,000 litres of plasma from UK donors have been sent to human protein product manufacturer Octapharma to produce NHS medicines for the first time since a 1998 ban.…