‘It just seems so obvious’ - Leeds chemist backs our campaign to recruit pharmacies in Covid vaccine roll-out

Amit Dhand, superintendent pharmacist at Headingley Pharmacy said it has been “confusing” to him why the 11,000-stong pharmacy network across the UK had not been recruited to play a major role in the vaccination programme.

“Even if we all did one vaccine an hour, we would do 1.1 million vaccines a week, which is half the Government target.

“There’s simply no infrastructure anywhere else like community pharmacies.

“It just seems so obvious, it’s almost foolish to talk about because it should have been the first thing they did.”

Mr Dhand added: “Community pharmacies are the first line of defence - the Government has pushed that.

“If they are the first line of defence then why don’t they use us as the first line of defence - and not the last line of attack? It doesn’t make any sense.”

His comments come as over 120,000 people have so far signed our petition urging the Government to use community pharmacies in the vaccine roll-out.

Led by the Yorkshire Evening Post and our sister titles across the JPI Media group, including The Yorkshire Post, The Star and Sunderland Echo, our Shot in the Arm campaign calls for everyone to have the ability to get a jab within 10 minutes of their home by using our great pharmacy network.

Mr Dhand said pharmacies are trusted and familiar to patients and would be a more welcome place to receive the vaccine.

Mr Dhand said: “It’s one thing to have massive mega centres which I think do serve a purpose but at the moment, when people’s mental health has been really hammered over the past 12 to 18 months - a lot of patients come into the pharmacy saying they want to have it here because it’s familiar.

“They feel intimidated and uncertain about going to the huge mega centres.

“We know patients will feel comfortable and familiar coming here, we know them by their first names, we know their medical history, we probably know which patients might need more reassurance.

“If I was allowed to vaccinate here, I would be basing myself here for the first month to vaccinate patients. I would be here all day every day just to get through as many as humanly possible.”

He added: “Our ability to do this would be relatively straightforward. We have been giving the flu vaccine for such a long time.

“It’s just a confusing Government policy not to go to community pharmacies first and foremost.”

Around 200 pharmacy sites in England, including branches of high street chain Boots, are lined up to start delivering jabs to priority patients in the coming weeks.

But industry bodies have called on the Government to widen the pool to thousands more community pharmacists who are ready and willing to play their part in vaccinating the nation.

Office for National Statistics figures show there are around 160 pharmacies in Leeds yet the Yorkshire Evening Post has learned only four community pharmacies in West Yorkshire alone are so far being used for vaccination sites, with plans for a further four opening by early February.

Dhaanish Rafiq, a pharmacist at The Pharmacy Group’s Richmond Hill branch told the Yorkshire Evening Post he believes the accessibility of pharmacies could be key as the vaccination programme rolls out to more people.

“I definitely think that community pharmacies can play a vital role in the vaccination process. Especially over the next six months as more people are allowed to get access to it.

“People who maybe can’t attend an appointment at their GP practice or one of the hubs could get to a pharmacy that’s open for longer hours.

“For elderly people who might live a distance away from the hub or GP practice might live right next door to a community pharmacy.

“It would just increase access to more people.”

To sign the petition click here.