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 re-opening the covid-19 vaccination centre application process to community pharmacies which have the capacity to deliver at least 100 vaccines per week.

NHS England and NHS Improvement wrote to pharmacies on 27 November 2020, explaining the process to apply to be designated as a vaccination service. This followed the Primary Care Network (PCN) designation process to map pharmacies to the gaps left where there is no PCN service or where the PCN offer is not enough, taking into consideration accessibility, especially in deprived populations.

There are key requirements, which must be met by all designated sites, together with other considerations. These include facilities, availability of workforce, equity of access, geographical coverage, and the total number of sites that can be accommodated within the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain. Vaccinations will be provided to eligible cohorts from a variety of providers, who will be required to administer at least 1,000 doses of vaccine each week, in a way that minimises waste, and makes best use of the available supply.