Key Summary
- NPA urges NHS to commission pharmacies to provide vaccines to school age children.
- Currently, there is a decline in the levels of vaccination for teenagers, which could lead to 'tragic consequences' if not urgently addressed.
- A recent YouGov poll shows that 55 per cent of English adults want childhood vaccination services made available on the high street.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has urged the NHS to commission pharmacies to provide vaccines to school age children to address a ‘dangerous and growing wave of vaccine hesitancy’.
Currently, there is a decline in the levels of vaccination for teenagers, and this could lead to 'tragic consequences' if not urgently addressed.
Meanwhile, there is a rise in the number of people resorting to private vaccinations. Especially, evident in the recent MenB outbreak in Berkshire and in Kent, with many patients already expecting their pharmacy to provide vaccinations for young people.
For school age children, routine vaccinations are still being provided through schools or by GPs.
However, the NPA found that no national childhood vaccination in the UK reached the 95 per cent uptake target set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The uptake has been falling since 2018 for all major childhood vaccination programmes.
- MenACWY vaccine (Meningitis): The uptake has fallen by 16 per cent from its high point in 2018, with one in 4 eligible year 9 and 10 school pupils missing out.
- Td/IPV vaccine (tetanus, diphtheria and polio): Uptake fell by 15 per cent since 2018, with over a quarter of 14-16 year olds unprotected.
- Flu vaccination: Uptake among eligible school children has also plummeted and are far short of national targets. 52 per cent of eligible children were vaccinated this year, falling to 43 per cent of 15-16 year olds. In 2018, 60 per cent of eligible children received a vaccine.
The NPA wants the government to use pharmacies to provide urgent catch-up vaccinations for free to those teenagers who have missed their original vaccine, as well as including pharmacies in the roll out of vaccines for school children to ensure greater take up.
A poll commissioned by the NPA and conducted by YouGov found that over half of English adults (55 per cent) wanted to see vaccination services for children offered in their pharmacies.
The polling also showed that 39 per cent found it difficult to access their GP, compared to just 6 per cent who found it difficult to access a pharmacy.
NPA claims that pharmacies are trusted places for patients to receive vaccines, and is well-placed to tackle cultural challenges around vaccine hesitancy.
The recent Covid-19 inquiry had recommended that the government ‘should use community pharmacies in vaccination efforts’ as they were ‘particularly effective in areas likely to have lower vaccine uptake…for example, areas of high deprivation’.
NPA chair Olivier Picard said that without urgent action to tackle a dangerous and growing wave of vaccine hesitancy, we risk seeing more heartbreaking outbreaks of preventable illness that we have already seen in parts of the UK recently.
“Pharmacies stand ready and able to support the NHS tackle this. We need reform to an outdated childhood vaccination programme which recent evidence suggests has seen declining levels of uptake, with potentially worrying consequences.
“Our polling shows that many patients struggle to access their GP and in some instances are not registered with a GP at all. It makes sense for pharmacies, who are highly accessible and on people’s doorsteps, to be able to help NHS colleagues deliver vaccinations.
“Pharmacies already provide vaccinations for millions of adults and as noted by the Covid Inquiry are particularly effective in making vaccines more accessible in communities with lower levels of uptake.
“We must do all we can to stop the clock being turned back on efforts to eradicate serious childhood diseases.”
