Chemists run out of flu jabs as rollout comes under fire

Panic over sky-high rates of flu in hospitals has left chemists struggling to stock jabs even before cases of the illness peak, pharmacy leaders have warned.

- KATE DEVLIN and BRYONY GOOCH

Professor Claire Anderson, the president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, hit out at the difficulties as she called for better national coordination and planning to ensure everyone eligible can access flu vaccinations easily.

On Tuesday, NHS national medical director Professor Sir Stephen Powis said those eligible for an NHS jab could “still get protected” by visiting a Covid walk-in vaccination site “or finding a pharmacy offering the flu vaccine”. But an investigation by The Independent found chemists in areas including London, Manchester, Birmingham and Stourbridge in the West Midlands reported that they could not get hold of the inoculation.

The National Pharmacy Association said that they had heard of pharmacies that are part of their organisation being unable to get hold of supplies of the jabs in St Albans. At the weekend, Adam Osprey, head of policy and development at Community Pharmacy Scotland, which represents pharmacy owners, also warned that demand was outstripping supply.

More than 18 million people get a flu jab every year. But Professor Anderson said that access to the vaccine was currently “varied” across Britain.