Harrogate Advertiser says: Local pharmacies should play bigger role in the battle to deliver vaccine

Much of the national media's attention may have focused on the new high-profile mass vaccination sites so far but the need to roll out the anti-Covid jab to millions of people as quickly as possible has now turned the spotlight on community pharmacies and small chemists.
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Although the Government believes the complexities of handling the Pfizer vaccine mean the role of local pharmacists, initially, is to offer help at off-site locations, the introduction of the easier-to-handle Oxford vaccine may open the door for the wider involvement of small chemists.

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The Harrogate Advertiser and its sister titles in the JPIMedia group this week called for trusted pharmacists to be on the frontline of administering the vaccine.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones recently visited the mass vaccination centre situated at the Great Yorkshire Showground, with Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer at NHS North Yorkshire CCG.Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones recently visited the mass vaccination centre situated at the Great Yorkshire Showground, with Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer at NHS North Yorkshire CCG.
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones recently visited the mass vaccination centre situated at the Great Yorkshire Showground, with Amanda Bloor, the accountable officer at NHS North Yorkshire CCG.

Already, a Harrogate pharmacist has backed our campaign calling for the coronavirus vaccine to be rolled out via the nation’s army of pharmacies.

Shaun Davies, Superintendent Pharmacist at Harrogate Pharmacy on Haywra Crescent, said he is fully supportive of the Harrogate Advertiser’s Shot In The Arm - Let All Pharmacies Deliver The Jab campaign.

And Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones believes that community pharmacies are a key part of the vaccination network that “will see us clear of this dreadful pandemic”.

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Mr Jones said: “The vaccine roll-out is ramping up quickly with the supply of vaccine rapidly increasing and trained NHS staff ready to get the vaccine straight into people’s arms as soon as it is available.

“Community pharmacies are a key part of that ramping up and now that the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine - which doesn’t require special ultra-low temperature storage - is in mass production we will see community pharmacies joining the national vaccination effort this week.”

Mr Jones also praised community pharmacies for being “trusted hubs”.

He said: “This is important because pharmacies know their communities and are trusted hubs for people to get medical support. They are based in the community, often a short walk for many of the vulnerable groups who need the vaccine most, and are part of our community.

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“They are a key part of the vaccination network that will see us clear of this dreadful pandemic.”

Meanwhile, Shaun Davies said he and his staff at Harrogate Pharmacy on Haywra Crescent could begin administering doses of the vaccine “at the push of a button” and urged the Government to let pharmacies up and down the country help it reach its own target of vaccinating two million people a week.

He said: “As healthcare professionals we have a vital role to play in protecting our communities and this would be just another way of us doing that. We are fully supportive of the campaign.

“Every year pharmacies administer the influenza jab and I fail to see how this is any different. The Covid vaccine is perfectly suitable for pharmacies to administer and we could help by supporting GP practices and making it easier for residents who live far away from vaccination centres to get access. "

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Ninety per cent of people in England live within 20 minutes walking distance of a pharmacy - and this figure is as great as 99 per cent in the more deprived areas.

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