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Pharmacies can provide the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine

Following the news that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has approved the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for rollout in the UK the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Chief Scientist Gino Martini said:

“This is enormously exciting news for patients and the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme. 

“Pharmacists working in hospitals and GP surgeries have already played an important role in getting the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to patients through strategic planning, distribution and roles in the preparation and administration of the vaccine.  

“Now community pharmacists all over the country will be able to provide the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine directly to patients. One of the major benefits of the new vaccine is that it can be kept in a normal fridge, so it’s much easier to distribute and store in pharmacies. We want the NHS across the UK to work with pharmacy to make this happen.

“Pharmacists are skilled in vaccination, having provided flu jabs and travel vaccines for years. This means the NHS has a ready-made workforce waiting to play its part to scale up the Covid vaccination programme and speed up delivery of the vaccine to at-risk groups.

“As trusted healthcare professionals, pharmacists can also help build confidence in the vaccine and increase its uptake. Pharmacies have been open throughout the pandemic and their convenient locations and opening hours mean much better access for patients to this new vaccine.”

Read our statement on pharmacists’ role in the vaccination programme: https://rphar.ms/3nz4dKy

Visit our COVID-19 vaccination hub

Read the RPS guidance on COVID-19 vaccines here.

Contact 07860 643 862 for media queries

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