Pharmacies have warned that the UK will see more outbreaks of preventable diseases without urgent action to reform an 'outdated’ childhood vaccination programme for school age children.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA), who represent around 6000 independent community pharmacies, are calling on the NHS to commission pharmacies to provide vaccines to school age children to address a ‘dangerous and growing wave of vaccine hesitancy’.
Pharmacies have warned that falling levels of vaccination for teenagers could have 'tragic consequences' if not urgently addressed.
Pharmacies across the UK have seen a huge surge in patients requesting private vaccinations for children after the recent MenB outbreak in Berkshire and in Kent, with many patients already expecting their pharmacy to provide vaccinations for young people.
At the moment, vaccinations for school age children either take place in schools or by GPs, with pharmacies not involved despite already delivering vaccinations to adults to protect against flu and Covid-19.
Analysis by the NPA found that no national childhood vaccination in the UK reached the 95 per cent uptake target set by the World Health Organisation, with uptake falling since 2018 for all major childhood vaccination programmes. This analysis also found that:
Uptake for the MenACWY vaccine, which protect teens against some strains of Meningitis, 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.
Similarly, uptake of Td/IPV vaccine, which protects teenagers from tetanus, diphtheria and polio has also fallen by 15 per cent since 2018, with over a quarter of 14-16 year olds unprotected.
Rates of 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 have called on 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.
The calls come as new polling 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.
Pharmacies are warning that recent outbreaks of measles, meningitis and other preventable illnesses will become more common without urgent action to include pharmacies, which will make it easier for patients to access the protection they need.
The NPA is calling on the NHS to use pharmacies to provide catch up vaccines for patients over 11 who missed one or more of their childhood vaccinations, similar to France and other countries.
Pharmacies are trusted places for patients to receive vaccines, are trusted by patients and are also well placed to tackle cultural challenges around vaccine hesitancy.
The recently published Covid-19 Inquiry recommended 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’.
Olivier Picard, Chair of the National Pharmacy Association said:
“Falling rates of childhood vaccination represents a significant public health challenge and could have tragic consequences if not addressed.
“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.”
