Coronavirus in Portsmouth: New Covid-19 vaccination site opens at Goldchem pharmacy in Albert Road, Southsea

The Goldchem pharmacy in Albert Road started administering Covid-19 jabs on Thursday, and since then has inoculated more than 200 people a day.

Superintendent pharmacist Nash Hooda said that he was pleased by how well the first few days had gone, and that he was delighted that some of his elderly regular customers had better access to a vaccination.

‘It’s something that's desperately needed,’ he said. ‘And it’s been very well received by all of our clients.’

Mr Hooda, who has run the pharmacy for 37 years, said he believed that Covid vaccinations would become an annual event. He added: ‘We have to make it part of the fabric of care.’

The News and its sister papers launched the Shot in the Arm campaign last month, urging the government to make more use of high street and community pharmacies in the vaccination programme.

Mr Hooda said that it made sense for pharmacies to be fully involved in the vaccination roll-out, and that having more sites would increase vaccination take-up among the elderly as they would not be deterred by having to travel.

‘Goldchem Pharmacy has always been a vaccination centre,’ he said. ‘We have provided flu and travel vaccinations for years. Our pre-existing set-up just had to be adapted. It did not make sense that there were 11,000 pharmacies in the country standing ready and yet so much energy was being put into mass vaccination centres.’

But he paid tribute to the NHS, saying that GPs and primary care teams were all working together, and that the local community had helped too, for example with St Swithun’s Church allowing vaccination patients to park in its car park.Last week a vaccination site was opened by the Greywell pharmacy in Leigh Park, and there is also one in the Lalys in Guildhall Walk in Portsmouth city centre.

Patients are invited centrally to a vaccine appointment via their GP – people cannot turn up for one and pharmacists and staff do not have control over the invitation process.

The mass vaccination hub at St James’ Hospital opened on Monday, February 1.