Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of community pharmacies assisting with the roll-out of covid-19 vaccinations to ensure (a) timeliness and (b) safe access to vaccinations for the clinically extremely vulnerable; and if he will make a statement.

The National Health Service stands ready to deliver each COVID-19 vaccination programme as soon as the vaccine is authorised for use by the medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

The?planning?for?effective models of delivery includes?the consideration of settings?such as community pharmacies to support rollout.

The COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment Programme is engaging with senior pharmacy sector representatives from the Department, NHS England, and NHS Improvement regarding the community pharmacy sector’s role in the distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine.