Several changes were made to vaccination programmes this year, including:

• An injection protecting against Meningitis B, which accounts for around 90 per cent of meningococcal infections in the UK, is now given at two, four and 12-13 months of age
• Meningococcal ACWY has replaced the meningitis C vaccine offered at around age 14 and to new university entrants up to the age of 25
• Under a new national service, pharmacies across England can now offer seasonal flu jabs to all over 65s, pregnant women, care home residents, carers, patients aged over 18 years in at-risk groups and household contacts of individuals who are immunocompromised (e.g. because of medication taken to prevent transplanted organ rejection)
• All schoolchildren in years one and two in England and Wales are now included in national flu immunisation initiatives.

Pharmacy staff have an important role to play in communicating and providing advice on the changes.

Also in this therapeutic area, Public Health England launched its 'Antibiotic Guardian' campaign to try to improve antibacterial prescribing and use. Pharmacies were highlighted as being well placed to provide advice on self care and OTC medicines in order to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bugs.