Starmer: Deploy pharmacies to deliver 24/7 vaccine programme

Keir Starmer will tomorrow [Thursday] call on the Government to deploy the nation’s 11,500 community pharmacies to help deliver a 24/7 vaccine programme by the end of February.

Ahead of a visit to a vaccination centre in Stevenage, Starmer will call on Ministers to “match the nation’s ambition” for Britain to be the first country in the world to roll-out the vaccine to the whole population.

He will set out three steps to help speed up the programme across England:

• 24/7 vaccinations using a wider range of venues, staff and volunteers to deliver two million vaccines per week and increase capacity to four million per week by the end of February.

• Put the nation’s 11,500 pharmacies at the heart of the roll-out to guarantee vaccines can be delivered on every high street.

• Harness the resources of local government with councils across the country offering support, and Labour councils already stepping up as part of Labour’s Let’s Vaccinate Britain campaign.

The first wave of vaccinations through community pharmacy sites was reported to involve just 200 pharmacies – 1.7 per cent – from a total of 11,500 across England. Labour wants the Government to capitalise on pharmacies’ strong local links and their offers to support the roll-out to help deliver a faster, 24/7 programme by the end of February.

Official figures suggest that a 24/7 roll-out could increase current capacity for vaccine delivery by hundreds of thousands of doses per week, with the current 12-hour per day programme delivering over 300,000 doses in England last week.

The intervention follows the launch of Let’s Vaccinate Britain, Labour’s campaign to ensure the Labour movement plays its part in the roll-out. Starmer today urges the Government to work with Labour councils who stand ready to support the effort. Offers from councils include sites for mass vaccinations, staff with relevant expertise and transport for elderly residents to access vaccination centres.

Keir Starmer, Leader of the Labour Party, said:

“The whole country wants this roll-out to succeed. We were the first to get the vaccine and if we get this right and pull together, I know we can be the first country to roll it out successfully.

“To do that, the Government needs to match the nation’s ambition with a 24/7 roll-out which harnesses all the expertise and dedication our country has to offer.

“Every high street has a pharmacy and I want to see every possible pharmacy deployed to help.

“Labour will play our part. Labour councils are already stepping up, supporting their communities and making generous offers of support to the Government. Across those communities, pharmacists stand ready to play their part too. Let’s use them, and let’s vaccinate Britain.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The first wave of community pharmacies delivering the vaccine was reported to involve just 200 sites: https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/news-and-analysis/features/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-uks-covid-19-vaccination-programme/20208621.article

1. NHS data shows there were over 11,500 community pharmacies across England in 2019: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-pharmaceutical-services/in-2008-09---2018-19-ns

1. NHS data shows 288,560 people in England received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in the week commencing 3rd January 2021, and 19,981 people received a second dose, giving a total of 308,541 people: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/healthcare#card-people_who_have_received_vaccinations_by_report_date_daily

1. Labour councils are now stepping forward to help with this crucial national effort:

• Milton Keynes Council: working with the NHS to set up a large vaccination centre and offered staffing for the centre.

• Newcastle City Council: seconded staff to help with vaccine logistics, helping transport people to the vaccination centre and on-site support.

• Greenwich Council: offered staff resource, operations and buildings to support the roll-out alongside local partners such as Charlton Athletic Football Club.

1. As part of the drive to hit two million vaccines per week, Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has previously called for:

• The establishment of more mass vaccination centres and mobile vaccine units for hard to reach communities led by the NHS, in partnership with local authorities.

• Training thousands more vaccinators to turbo charge the vaccination programme and cut bureaucracy to help retired NHS staff return to help administer vaccination.

• Setting a target to have vaccinated all NHS and social care staff; to provide certainty to those working at the frontline of the crisis.

• Delivering the resources that GPs and pharmacists need to increase the number of people they can vaccinate including providing them with additional properly trained staff, and access to public buildings to set up local vaccination centres.

• A national public health communication strategy to ensure the public are fully informed about the vaccine. This must tackle vaccine hesitancy and target communities with historically lower vaccination rates. Information on the vaccine must be available in accessible formats and other languages from the start of the programme.

• An equal access plan to put the infrastructure in place to ensure that everyone, no matter where they live, can access the vaccine, targeting rural, deprived and BAME communities.