Since the first six community pharmacy-run Covid vaccine sites went live on 14 January, the landscape has changed dramatically. Hundreds of pharmacy-led and run teams are now providing jabs, with many more interested in doing so, according to the latest data.

According to the most recent NHS England figures (April 23), some 339 pharmacies are hosting or running Covid vaccination sites. A geographical breakdown, by region, of the pharmacy led sites is shown on the map (left). The total number of sites was 1,802 (274 hospital hubs, 1032 GP-led services and 157 large vaccination centres).

The NHS England data reveals that pharmacies have partnered with a wide variety of venues to deliver Covid jabs, including sports venues, local community centres, faith venues and even cinemas. A selection of novel venues is included in the table.

Boots are recorded as running the most pharmacy centres, with 29, mostly in store, followed by Pharmacy2U with 16 (all offsite), Day Lewis with 10 (both) and Superdrug with nine (in store). 

Looking forward, a survey of community pharmacists carried out in March by CIG Research found that 58 per cent of those working in independents and multiple groups in England thought they would 'definitely' be able to deliver an annual Covid vaccination service, as long as appropriate funding and support were in place. 

At the time, only 2 per cent of respondents were actively involved in the programme, 37 per cent were planning on becoming involved and 41 per cent were considering it. 

Only 19 per cent of respondents thought providing such a service would not impact their business significantly. To mitigate this impact, 63 per cent said they would employ extra staff, 33 per cent would extend their opening hours and 7 per cent would use locum cover or provide the service from a different venue.

Pharmacists thought they would be able to provide a maximum of 310 vaccines a week in any structured programme. 

The full CIG Research report, with additional analysis, is available at www.pharmacymagazine.co.uk