Infectious diseases

Everything you should know about the coronavirus pandemic

The latest information about the novel coronavirus identified in Wuhan, China, and advice on how pharmacists can help concerned patients and the public.…

Community pharmacists administer almost 3 million flu jabs in 2020–2021

There have been at least 2.6 million vaccines administered by community pharmacy in England during the 2020–2021 flu vaccination programme.…

Patients aged over 50 years to be offered free flu vaccine under expanded 2021–2022 programme

The Scottish government has also announced that community pharmacists and other independent contractors will be eligible to receive a flu vaccine next winter.…

Government doubles funding for PrEP commissioning

The public health grant to local authorities for 2021/2022 includes £23.4m to cover the routine commissioning of pre-exposure prophylaxis.…

Government to consider PrEP provision outside of sexual health clinics

Exclusive: The government says access to pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV could be expanded to community pharmacies and GP practices.…

Government plans COVID-19 revaccination campaign

Pharmacies "will be key" to the success of a COVID-19 revaccination programme in autumn/winter 2021.…

Prime minister vows to reimburse community pharmacy’s COVID-19 costs ‘as soon as possible’

Boris Johnson told The Pharmaceutical Journal that community pharmacies “play a vital role in helping us to fight the pandemic” and that he does not want to see any closures.…

Government ‘miscommunicated’ PPE stock levels to pharmacies during first COVID-19 wave, MPs told

The Healthcare Distribution Association told the Public Accounts Committee that the centralised personal protective equipment stock for community pharmacy during the COVID-19 pandemic “faced considerable challenges”.…

NHS trusts advised to conserve propofol because of high demand from COVID-19 patients

A supply disruption alert for three presentations of the sedative propofol has been issued, with NHS trusts asked to “preserve propofol stocks for critical care sedation, induction of anaesthesia and target-controlled sedation”.…

Gout drug could cut length of hospitalisation in patients with moderate to severe COVID-19

Using the gout drug colchicine as a treatment for COVID-19 could reduce the length of both supplemental oxygen therapy and hospitalisation in patients, a small trial finds.…