Minister faces pressure to ramp up Covid vaccine plan to include 'all' the UK's pharmacies

Stephen Morgan has called on the Tory MP to do more to drive forward the nation's vaccination programme.

In a letter sent to Mr Zahawi last night, the Portsmouth South MP ‘noted’ some pharmacies had been recruited by the government as part of a pilot scheme ‘but not all’.

‘We need to go further still to help in the vaccination programme for Britain,’ he said. ‘In particular, we need to ensure that it is possible to get vaccinated ‘round the clock and round the corner’.

‘That means transforming the role of our community pharmacists into actually delivering the vaccines.’

In his letter, Mr Morgan said that it would be a ‘missed opportunity’ if pharmacies weren’t relied upon to deliver the jabs.

Chemists, he said, already played a critical part in nation’s annual flu vaccination campaign.

And he said that about ‘90 per cent of the population’ was ‘within a 20-minute walk of a pharmacy’.

‘Adding community pharmacies would add thousands of new settings in which vaccinations can be safely administered, dramatically cut the time it takes to vaccinate everyone who needs it and allow us to lift the national lockdown faster,’ he said.

‘The News, the community-spirited newspaper in my region has set up an important ‘Shot in the Arm’ campaign calling on government to let pharmacies deliver the vaccine. In launching a petition, which I support, more and more constituents are backing their important efforts on this issue.

‘I therefore call on you to bring forward detailed plans to allow all our pharmacists to join this crucial national effort.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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