Patients attending a participating Boots vaccination hub for their COVID-19 booster jab appointment will also be offered a free NHS flu jab “at the same time wherever possible”, the multiple said in a statement yesterday (September 28).
This is in line with NHS England and NHS Improvement’s (NHSE&I) community pharmacy local enhanced service, which was published earlier this month (September 17).
The guidance states that pharmacy contractors can signpost patients to the flu vaccination service if they indicate “that they have not made arrangements for this vaccination and the patient does not elect to have a co-administered vaccine”.
A spokesperson for Well told C+D today (September 29) that 55 of its branches have also been selected to participate in the booster programme, but the spokesperson was unable to confirm their locations by the time this article was published.
Selected pharmacies to start next week
The 55 Boots branches will begin offering the booster jabs from October 4, from special vaccination hubs that were initially created for the first and second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the multiple explained.
“Almost 100 Boots stores now feature a vaccination hub,” Boots said in its statement.
The Boots branches that have been selected to participate in the booster programme are located in:
- Alfreton, Alton
- Barnsley, Basildon, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Bournemouth, Bristol, Buxton
- Cambridge, Carlisle, Chatham, Chester, Colchester, Coventry
- Dartford, Derby, Durham
- Gloucester
- Halifax, Handforth, Haverhill, Huddersfield, Huntingdon
- Kings Lynn
- Leicester, Liverpool, London Beckton Gallions, London Canary Wharf, London Fleet Street, London Greenford, London Kew, London Kingston-upon-Thames, London Wood Green, Luton
- Newark, Newbury, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham Beeston, Nottingham Victoria Centre
- Oxford Cornmarket Street, Oxford Cowley Road
- Peterborough Queensgate, Peterborough Serpentine Green
- Reading Slough, Southampton, Southport, Stockport, Staines
- Taunton
- Uxbridge
- Wakefield, Weston-super-Mare and Wolverhampton.
Flu and COVID-19 jabs “equally important”
Boots chief pharmacist Marc Donovan said: “We are delighted to continue to support NHSE&I to deliver its COVID-19 vaccination programme by administering booster jabs at select stores.
“We are also pleased that we can offer eligible patients a free NHS flu jab when they visit us for their appointment – we hope that it will drive uptake of both vaccines, which are equally important,” he added.
Speaking at a Downing Street briefing earlier this month, Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation Professor Wei Shen Lim said that the booster programme does not “imply that other vaccination programmes are no longer important” and encouraged all eligible patients to get the flu vaccine.
Superdrug administered its first COVID-19 booster vaccination from its Merrion Centre branch in Leeds last week (September 23).
It is “initially launching nine additional locations to administer vaccinations”, with more sites being added to the programme over the coming weeks, the multiple said.
C+D also reported this month that 12 Lloydspharmacy branches had been selected to join the COVID-19 booster programme.
