The NPA is urging the NHS to commission pharmacies to provide a catch-up service for the 30 per cent of teenagers who have missed their MenACWY vaccinations.
Olivier Picard, NPA chair, said: “Pharmacists across the UK are very sad to learn about these tragic deaths in Kent. Some pharmacies are already seeing an uptick in patients contacting them to book MenACWY and MENB vaccinations, and we anticipate this demand will continue to grow.”
Many parents may be unaware of the risks posed to older teenagers from meningitis and the importance of getting vaccinated, he added.
“We are alarmed by falling vaccination rates for a number of diseases, including meningitis and measles, which shows our approach to childhood vaccination is not fit for purpose and is in need of urgent reform to tackle a growing wave of vaccine hesitancy,” he said.
“The NHS should urgently commission pharmacies to provide a catch-up vaccination service for teenagers who did not receive their MenACWY immunisations as well as commissioning pharmacies to support NHS colleagues with wider childhood vaccinations.”
The call was echoed by IPA chief executive, Leyla Hannbeck. “It is essential that the authorities fully utilise the capacity neighbourhood pharmacies can bring to tackling patient concern,” she said.
While most young children will have had the meningitis B vaccine, part of the childhood immunisation programme since 2015, many teenagers and young adults will not have this vital protection. Some of the cases in Kent have been identified as meningitis B.
“The NHS needs to urgently commission pharmacies to deliver an immediate catch-up programme targeted at university students and teenagers born before 2015,” Ms Hannbeck added.
Pharmacies are ready to play a bigger role in administering a wider range of vaccinations to address outbreaks such as those seen recently with meningitis and measles, said CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison.
“What we really need now is a proactive, national approach,” he said. “NHS England must commission pharmacies to deliver vaccines for adolescents and young adults including the 3-in-1 teenage booster and meningitis ACWY.”
The meningitis B vaccine is not currently offered routinely to teenagers and young people on the NHS.
