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Independent pharmacies played a leading role in administering Covid-19 vaccines in the country, latest data compiled by the National Pharmacy Association has revealed. According to the latest research conducted by the NPA and PharmData, independent community pharmacies were the biggest deliverers of Covid vaccines during January - September 2021 as compared to corporate-run pharmacy sites. The PharmData figures which looked at 610 pharmacy sites around the country showed that 85 per cent of them were independents, most of whom are NPA members. NPA chief executive Mark Lyonette said: "These figures show us that flexible, locally engaged, entrepreneurial independent community pharmacies are making a huge contribution to the vaccine programme.

A polio vaccine booster campaign is being launched for almost a million children in London aged between 1 and 9 after confirmation that poliovirus is spreading in the capital for the first time since the 1980s. The UK Health Security Agency has identified 116 polioviruses from 19 sewage samples this year in London, after first sending an alert about finding the virus in June. The levels of poliovirus found and genetic diversity indicated that transmission was taking place in a number of London boroughs, the agency said on Wednesday (Aug 10). Health secretary Steve Barclay said: "I recognise parents and guardians will be concerned about the detection of polio in London, however I want to reassure people that nobody has been diagnosed with the virus and the risk to the wider population is low… "vaccines offer the best defence to children, and those around them, so I would encourage families to ensure they are up to date with their routine jabs, and to come forward for the polio booster as soon as they are contacted by the NHS."

AstraZeneca UK has revised the expiry dates for certain batches of Fluenz Tetra nasal spray vaccines as a precautionary measure, after finding that their potency (strength) dropped faster than predicted once thawed, during routine testing. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has been informed by the manufacturer that the printed expiry date for a limited number of batches is "incorrect." However, the MHRA has assured patients that the affected batches are safe to use and fully effective within the amended expiry date. If the vaccine is administered after the amended expiry date, it may be less effective in protecting against flu, it said. The UK regulatory authority also reiterated that it "keeps the safety of medicines, including vaccines, under review, and acts where necessary to protect patients and the public."

The Pharmacists' Defence Association has reported an increase in the number of pharmacists calling its advice line to inform about the incidences of violence and intimidation from protesters opposing the Covid-19 vaccination programme. The association noted that such incidents have become more common with protesters "gaining entry to premises in groups and trying to disrupt Covid-19 vaccinations from taking place." In many cases, pharmacists, staff, and members of the public have been subjected to verbal threats, causing distress and anxiety among those working to deliver the vaccination programme in a safe environment. The PDA reminded that employers, having a contract with the NHS for the Covid-19 vaccinations, have a duty to keep their staff safe whilst at work. The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) standards for pharmacy premises also carry a duty to ensure the safety of staff and the public receiving services on those premises.

Polio has been detected in sewage samples in London, the first sign since the 1980s that the virus could be spreading in the UK, but no cases have been found, authorities said. The risk of infection from the disease, which causes paralysis in children in under one per cent of cases, was also low because of high vaccination rates, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. The agency nevertheless encouraged parents to make sure their children were vaccinated after the discovery of the virus during routine wastewater surveillance - particularly those who may have missed shots during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nationwide vaccination levels are above the 90 per cent needed to prevent outbreaks, but London's coverage rates among the under-twos has dipped below that in recent years. NHS England will begin contacting parents of children under five who are not immunised. Polio, spread mainly through contamination by faecal matter, used to kill and paralyse thousands of children annually worldwide. There is no cure, but vaccination brought the world close to ending the wild, or naturally occurring, form of the disease.

A community pharmacist, Viral Doshi was honoured with the British Citizen Award (BCA) on Thursday (26 January) at the Palace of Westminster for transforming his community centre into vaccination hub during Covid-19 pandemic. Viral was presented with his Medal of Honour by Liam Sargeant, Senior Company Communications Manager, from supporters P&G and TV presenter and Patron of the BCA, Nick Knowles, who hosted the event. At the height of the pandemic, Viral obtained approval to transform his community centre into a vaccination hub. Located in the heart of a multi-ethnic population, with social deprivation, surrounded by wards experiencing high rates of Covid-19. His determination to increase uptake and reduce vaccination hesitancy, led to 80,000 vaccinations being administered, the overall highest vaccination uptake in North West London. Viral is a passionate advocate for the role that GP practices and community pharmacies can play in supporting the health agenda. His objective, to provide better choice and access for the community have been fully met and appreciated by patients. His initiatives led to a dramatic increase in the clinical skills, knowledge and services offered by local community pharmacies around a variety of health topics. This enabled pharmacies to adopt a holistic health approach to working with their communities.

NHS England has agreed to offer an additional payment of £2.50 per jab if pharmacies would be willing to extend the duration of their COVID-19 vaccination contract until 31st August 2024. Pharmacies currently providing the autumn vaccination are asked to let their local commissioner know, by 22nd February 2024, if they can provide cover for a potential Spring booster programme, if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises in their guidance expected to be published soon. NHS figures showed that more than 3,500 community pharmacies signed the contract to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations between 1 September 2023 and 31 March 2024, as part of the autumn booster programme. The health service is hoping that most of these pharmacies will be able to continue to support the Spring campaign, which will run from 1 April 2024 to 31st August 2024, to help protect the nation's most vulnerable populations. For the Spring campaign only, pharmacies would be offered an extra £2.50 per jab in addition to the existing item of service fee of £7.54, NHS England said.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) views the COVID vaccination programme as broadly successful, largely due to the efforts of healthcare workers and volunteers. However, it cited some areas that could be improved, notably the early involvement of community pharmacies in planning, operational challenges, and recognising the role of community pharmacy in addressing vaccine hesitancy and inequalities. Submitting its evidence to the Covid-19 Inquiry, the NPA highlighted that the community pharmacy should have been consulted and involved earlier in the planning process, considering their two years of experience and expertise in administering annual influenza vaccination programs and the reach and resources of the 14,000 community pharmacies across the UK. "Instead, community pharmacy was initially given a gap in service role, which failed to fully utilize their experience, expertise and resource," Lawyer Brian Stanton told the Inquiry on behalf of the NPA during the Module 4 Preliminary Hearing on 22 May.

If you are planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world that you could be exposed to whilst travelling abroad. Olive Health & travel clinic ilford also provide Travel vaccinations and travel jabs.

Britain on Tuesday (January 4) faced warnings of an impending hospital crisis due to staff shortages caused by a wave of Omicron infections, as the country returned to work after Christmas. However, Britain's vaccine minister said hospitalised Covid-19 patients were showing less severe symptoms than before, adding that there was no need for further restrictions at this stage. Prime minister Boris Johnson resisted imposing stringent lockdown measures in England ahead of New Year as Omicron fuelled a spike in cases to record highs. While hospitalisations are rising they have not tracked the trajectory of daily cases, possibly reflecting the impact of vaccines and booster shots, the likely lower severity of Omicron and the time lag in people going into hospital. "At the moment, if you look at the people who have been hospitalised, they are going in with less severe conditions than before," minister for vaccines and Public Health Maggie Throup told Sky News, adding that the "Plan B" Johnson brought in in December was working. "The numbers that are in hospital beds is about half what it was a year ago - and that just shows the power of the vaccine."

Boots UK's chief pharmacist has been encouraging people to get a flu vaccination by the end of November to help protect themselves, their loved ones and the NHS this festive season. Flu cases in the UK are usually highest in the winter months, from December to March. This year, the UK has seen a rise in cases earlier than usual, and therefore Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots, reminds people that it is even more important to get protected early to help reduce the risk of spreading the virus due to increased mixing at Christmas parties and family get togethers. Approximately 33 million people are eligible for the free NHS flu jab, including those over 50 years of age, pregnant women and those with medical conditions such as diabetes or heart disease. The pharmacy multiple says it offers the winter flu jab service, which is suitable for those eligible for the free NHS flu jab as well as privately, adding that it has already administered over one million flu vaccinations this season. Ms Nevinson explains: "December is a time to get together with friends and family to celebrate the month's festivities. It's a good idea to plan ahead to ensure you have your flu jab, and your COVID-19 booster vaccination if you are eligible, if you've not had them already, this the best way to protect yourself and reduce the risk of passing the viruses to others.

Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, fired back at Moderna on Monday in a patent lawsuit over their rival Covid-19 vaccines, seeking dismissal of the lawsuit in Boston federal court and an order that Moderna's patents are invalid and not infringed. Moderna first sued Pfizer in August, accusing the company of violating its rights in three patents related to innovations that Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Moderna said it pioneered before the Covid-19 pandemic. Moderna has also filed a related lawsuit against Pfizer and BioNTech in Germany. All three companies are also embroiled in US patent disputes with other companies over the vaccines. A Pfizer spokesperson said the company and BioNTech are confident in their intellectual property and will "vigorously defend" against Moderna's claims. Moderna did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Monday filing.

Health authorities in India have said that Biological E's Covid-19 vaccine Corbevax can be administered as a booster dose in people who have taken the country's other two main shots, Covaxin and AstraZeneca's Covishield, from Friday (Aug 12). Corbevax will be available to over 18s as precautionary booster six months after a second dose, the health ministry said in an August 8 letter to state authorities. Covishield is produced for the Indian market by the Serum Institute of India under licence from AstraZeneca, while Bharat Biotech makes Covaxin. India has so far administered more than 2 billion Covid vaccine shots, including 113 million boosters, all of which have so far been of the same vaccine as the recipient's first two doses. The government says about 89 per cent of Indians above the age of 12 have had two doses.

Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a supply notification for Varicella vaccine (live) powder and solvent for suspension/solution for injection 0.5ml vials (Varivax and Varilrix) until mid-October. AAH have put quotas in place for GPs to limit the ordering of Varilrix and safeguard supplies during this shortage. To override this quota or obtain stock in any other primary care setting (including community pharmacy) a prescription will be required. To obtain stock through the prescription validation system pharmacy will have to contact AAH Quota Management Customer Care team: Online https://www.aah.co.uk/s/quotarequest or by logging into AAH Point https://www.aah.co.uk/s/signin then choose Additional Services and select Quotas. The pharmacy should follow the steps and fill in the required information including their email address. The pharmacy can also call: 0344 561 8899 and select option 3 (quota) The pharmacy will need to have the prescription details available The AAH team will review the request and follow the guidance provided below to validate the prescription and approve the order.

BioNTech and Pfizer are to start tests on humans of next-generation vaccines that protect against a wide variety of coronaviruses in the second half of the year. Their experimental work on shots that go beyond the current approach include T-cell-enhancing shots, designed to primarily protect against severe disease if the virus becomes more dangerous, and pan-coronavirus shots that protect against the broader family of viruses and its mutations. In presentation slides posted on BioNTech's website for its investor day, the German biotech firm said its aim was to "provide durable variant protection". The two companies are currently discussing with regulators enhanced versions of their established shot to better protect against the Omicron variant and its sublineages. The virus' persistent mutation into new variants that more easily evade vaccine protection, as well as waning human immune memory, have added urgency to the search by companies, governments and health bodies for more reliable tools of protection. As part of a push to further boost its infectious disease business, BioNTech said it was independently working on precision antibiotics that kill superbugs that have grown resistant to currently available anti-infectives.

British health agencies have secured funding to develop a standardised approach to test the performance of vaccines being used or in development against monkeypox, days after the World Health Organization labelled the growing outbreak a global health emergency. The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) said it would give up to $375,000 to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to develop standard tools to assess the strength and duration of immune responses generated by current vaccines, and for tests used to detect monkeypox antibody levels. Apart from administration fees, these tools will be made freely available to the global scientific community, paving the way for a common standardised assessment between countries documenting vaccine performance against monkeypox, CEPI said. Until this year, the viral disease has rarely spread outside Africa where it is endemic. But reports of a handful of cases in Britain in early May signalled that the outbreak had moved into Europe. So far, there have been more than 16,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox in more than 75 countries.

Healthcare workers, including community pharmacy staff, can book their Covid-19 booster vaccination through the National Booking Service from Wednesday (September 7) onwards. NHS England has announced that around seven million people, including those aged 75 and over, people who are immunosuppressed and health and care workers will be able to book an appointment for their Covid-19 booster vaccinations online or by calling 119. Eligible staff are encouraged to book an appointment for a booster dose as soon as possible, provided it has been at least three months since their last dose of the vaccine. "For other eligible patients (not health and care workers), invitations are being sent out and will be landing on their doormats from Wednesday 7th September inviting people to book their appointment for the following week without delay. The NHS will contact people when it is their turn to book in for the vaccine - there will be no need for patients to contact the NHS," said PSNC.

Scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman from Hungary and the United States respectively won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries enabling the development of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, the award-giving body said on Monday. The prize, among the most prestigious in the scientific world, is selected by the Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute medical university and also comes with 11 million Swedish crowns (about £823,500). "The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19," the body said. Kariko was senior vice president and head of RNA protein replacement at BioNTech until 2022 and has since acted as an adviser to the company. She is also a professor at the University of Szeged in Hungary and adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. Weissman is professor in vaccine research at the Perelman School.

A fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine is not needed at present, as latest data shows first booster provides high levels of protection against Omicron variant among older adults, says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). After analysing latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), JCVI said: "There is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, or fourth jab, to the most vulnerable". Data from UKSHA revealed that single booster dose provides around 90 per cent protection against hospitalisation to those aged 65 and over, even after three months of jab. However, protection against mild symptomatic infection is short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months. The study, which looked at booster doses in those aged over 65, showed that with two vaccine doses, protection against the infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on Thursday (May 19) said that an anticipated autumn Covid booster campaign would be aimed at people aged over 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all adults in a clinical risk group. The UK is offering a spring booster to the over-75s, care home residents and immunosuppressed people, and ministers have spoken openly of plans for a further booster campaign in the autumn. In interim advice, the JCVI stopped short of recommending another shot for all adults, though said the advice would be reviewed and updated. "The JCVI's current view is that in autumn 2022, a Covid-19 vaccine should be offered to: residents in a care home for older adults and staff; frontline health and social care workers; all those 65 years of age and over; and adults aged 16 to 64 years who are in a clinical risk group," the UK Health Security Agency said in a statement. Prime minister Boris Johnson, who was fiercely criticised for his handling of the early stages of the pandemic, lifted Covid restrictions in England in February, crediting Britain's quick initial vaccine rollout and the rollout of boosters with breaking the link between cases and deaths.