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Pharmacies need to be commissioned to "deliver more vaccine programmes as quickly as possible, and commissioned in such a way that they have confidence that commissioning will last so they can make the changes and investments necessary to really create the full potential and deliver for the population," said Dr Nick Thayer, head of policy at the Company Chemists' Association, as he gave evidence to the House of Lords Childhood Vaccinations Committee earlier this week. 

Pharmacy had already demonstrated its ability to be flexible to administer polio and MMR vaccines in response to outbreaks, and take part in the childhood flu vaccination for last winter, although it was unclear whether this would be extended for this current year. There was also the success of the COVID vaccination programme in pharmacy, Dr Thayer said. 

The 10-year NHS health strategy had committed to a community pharmacy HPV vaccine catch up programme, but "It's now June", he said "we don't know what's going to happen with that. We don't know when it's going to be. We don't know who's going to do it, how it's going to work."

Asked how long he thought pharmacies would need to prepare for that programme, he said: "I think it's very difficult to say because it very much depends on how it's going to be commissioned because that can be really, really important. Whether it's going to be commissioned nationally is one thing or whether it's going to be a local pilot that really, really changes things.

"But when community pharmacy is asked to do something, it usually is quite good at turning around quickly and delivering".

Pharmacy offered "access, location and presence", and some were open evenings and weekends, which was important to "work around people's busy lives", they also existed in "supermarkets, in high streets, in health centres across the country," he told the committee. 

However, the NHS needed to "prioritise the integration of the national booking service" as this would have "quite significant efficiency benefits," and funding was "really, really important for general community pharmacy funding, but also vaccination programmes overall." The Government, he said, would have to put additional money into all vaccine programmes, as immunisation was "such an important public health action, it needs to be well funded".

There also needed to be consistency of delivery of the service across the country.

Asked how long it would take pharmacies to prepare to deliver childhood immunisaitons, Dr Thayer said pharmacies probably needed "a little bit more time to prepare" compared to the time needed for HPV vaccinations, as there were "some different considerations". But, he said: "Ultimately, I'm confident that pharmacies have the capacity and the capability to do so."