The online pharmacy's CEO Mark Livingstone said he was “incredibly proud” of Pharmacy2U’s contribution to the NHS’s vaccination programme.
“Reaching one million vaccinations administered is a special moment for us and marks a huge step in the national effort to vaccinate the country,” he said in a statement released this morning (November 18).
Pharmacy2U felt “compelled to play [its] part” in alleviating the strain placed on the NHS, he added.
Pharmacy2U has administered COVID-19 vaccinations across England since January, working with partners such as Odeon Cinemas, Morrisons, Village Hotels and The Jockey Club racecourses.
Helen Tynan (pictured above) was the recipient of the one millionth jab Pharmacy2U has delivered since January 2021.
The online pharmacy business currently has 26 active COVID-19 vaccination sites in England. C+D has asked Pharmacy2U whether the same number of sites are participating in the 'booster jab' phase of the vaccination programme.
Pharmacy2U will continue to deliver flu jabs for the second year in a row, it said. Last year, it partnered with first-aid charity St John Ambulance to offer NHS and private flu vaccination clinics at drive-through centres.
Community pharmacy’s “fantastic contribution”
Community pharmacy teams have administered a joint 15 million COVID-19 vaccine doses since January, NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) tweeted earlier this week (November 16).
Emily Lawson, NHSE&I's COVID-19 vaccination programme deployment lead, commended community pharmacy’s “fantastic contribution" to the vaccination programme. Community pharmacy teams have now given 15 million jabs, including two million boosters.
"We are incredibly grateful for the work of community pharmacy teams, who have stepped up to deliver the programme in a hugely impressive way,” she said.
Health secretary Sajid Javid – who received his flu jab at a pharmacy in London last month – revealed yesterday (November 17) that NHSE&I medical director for primary care Nikita Kanani personally administered his COVID-19 booster jab at Portmans Pharmacy in London.
He urged all those eligible for a booster dose to get theirs “as soon as they can”.
