Key Summary
- Malcolm Harrison said the flu vaccination programme urgently needs additional funding.
- 'The fee paid by the NHS for administering the flu jab has not kept pace with inflationary costs over the past decade'.
- The service fees for flu vaccinations at community pharmacies and the GPs is £10.06 per vaccine.
Company Chemists Association chief executive Malcolm Harrison has said that pharmacies are ready to take up an increased role in flu vaccination drives, but the NHS needs to provide additional funding.
He said this in reaction to the call by the GPs to stop giving flu jabs to NHS patients unless they are paid more.
The British Medical Association (BMA) wants the Government to increase its funding for flu vaccines for GP practices by 34 percent.
In a letter to England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty, the BMA claimed it was “no longer financially viable” for some surgeries to deliver the jabs.
The union said family doctors were already opting out of ordering stock for the NHS’s next campaign for flu vaccines.
Harrison said, “Pharmacies are ready to administer more flu jabs if needed, but the flu vaccination programme urgently needs additional funding. The fee paid by the NHS for administering the flu jab has not kept pace with inflationary costs over the past decade.
"Pharmacies have been part of the national programme since 2015, which seen continual growth in demand. By the end of October 2025, they had administered 3.3m flu vaccines – a 10 percent growth compared to the previous year.
"Many patients value the accessibility and convenience of receiving their vaccines from a local pharmacy. With more pharmacies in more deprived areas, pharmacies are also well placed to drive uptake amongst underserved communities and build greater vaccine confidence.
"In time, we believe pharmacy has the potential to administer all NHS vaccines, giving the public greater choice to receive vaccines when and where they want them.
"Through the work of the Pharmacy Vaccination Development Group, hosted by the CCA, over the past two years, we have been working with manufacturers, suppliers, commissioners and regulators to unlock the potential of community pharmacy to help more people receive the vaccinations they need to stay healthy”.
Static fees
The BMA said that family doctors are paid £10.06 for every flu vaccine they deliver, but this has been “static” since 2018-19.
The union added that this amounted to a “real-terms cut” of around a quarter, and called for payment for all vaccines to be increased to £13.48 – an increase of more than a third.
The service fees for flu vaccinations at community pharmacies were recently increased from £9.58 to £10.06, and they now equal those of GPs.
The BMA wants the NHS payment to be increased to £13.48 per vaccine.
