Her Majesty the Queen's pharmacists since 1958, John Bell & Croyden, have been chosen by NHS England as a Covid-19 vaccination site.
The pharmacy – established in 1798 – has kept its doors open through two world wars and now a global pandemic.
The first McKesson UK community pharmacy and flagship store in London’s Harley Street Medical Area, John Bell & Croyden will help support the nationwide Covid-19 vaccine rollout from January 25, a McKesson spokesperson has confirmed with Pharmacy Business.
"We are extremely proud to be playing our part in the national vaccine effort, with Her Majesty the Queen’s pharmacy being chosen as our first vaccination centre, said Toby Anderson, CEO of McKesson UK, who's spoken to the national media calling for community pharmacies across the UK to be allowed to play a much bigger part in the country's Covid-19 vaccination programme.
"This site has been a trusted partner to its local community for over 200 hundred years and throughout that period has played a leading role in establishing pharmacy as we know it today.
"We are in discussions with the government to do more, with an offer for LloydsPharmacy to deliver 100,000 vaccines per week across more than 600 sites on the table, if a small adjustment to the rules is made.
Six high street pharmacies on January 14 began administering vaccines across England as part of the government’s national vaccine rollout plan.
Robin Winfield, general manager of the John Bell & Croyden, said: “Our experienced and qualified staff have already been administering Covid-19 tests to hundreds of people and will be going the extra mile to ensure people can receive their Covid-19 vaccine over the coming weeks.”
