Pharmacy Voice is calling on commissioners to use community pharmacy more effectively during the next flu season, to help boost uptake among at-risk groups and increase confidence in the vaccine. New data collected by Pharmacy Voice shows that half a million flu vaccines were delivered to patients privately through 3,000 member pharmacies, while hundreds of thousands of patients chose to receive their NHS flu jab at their local pharmacy. However, the vaccine’s effectiveness against the most common strain of flu dropped to its lowest level for decades with only three per cent protection, compared with the typical 50 per cent.

In addition, only half of people under 65 with a long-term condition took up the offer of a free flu vaccine last season. Rob Darracott, Pharmacy Voice chief executive, urged commissioners to recognise that community pharmacy teams “are perfectly placed to offer flu vaccination to the target groups, being the most accessible healthcare professionals within the community.”