The importance of immunisation in preventing disease is summed up by the World Health Organization, which says: “The two public health interventions that have had the greatest impact on the world’s health are clean water and vaccines.”

This module looks in particular at the flu vaccine and how community pharmacies can build a successful service and protect their customer’s health.

The 2008 white paper, Pharmacy in England: Building on strengths – delivering the future, envisaged a role for community pharmacies in furthering the public health agenda by delivering commissioned NHS immunisation services. Initially the target was to use pharmacies to access hard-to-reach people in the risk groups for seasonal flu. However, it was also accepted that pharmacists had a role to play in providing wider immunisation services. 

During 2009, as part of the planning for the swine flu pandemic, commissioners focused on the potential for administering H1N1 swine flu vaccine through pharmacies. The pace of uptake of services quickened as commissioners recognised the accessibility and cost-effectiveness of using pharmacies as focal points for the immunisation delivery. 

Several immunisation services are now run through pharmacies, with the range of vaccines offered going beyond seasonal flu to include pneumococcal disease, human papilloma virus (HPV), hepatitis B and shingles.