Community pharmacies continue the vaccination programme
With the closure of the SSE arena vaccination centre, community pharmacies will be continuing to drive forward the vaccination programme – with the task to get the population fully vaccinated as soon as possible continues.
Following the ‘BigJabWeekend’ the Health Minister Robin Swann has said “The number of participating pharmacies offering vaccination appointments will be expanding.”
Vaccination by appointment is available at around 50 participating pharmacies. More pharmacies will be joining the programme. Further details on pharmacy bookings are available on the Health and Care NI website
http://www.healthandcareni.net/pharmacy_rota/Covid_Moderna_Vaccination_Pharmacies.html
Roll out
Health Minister Robin Swann has welcomed an expansion of the community pharmacy COVID-19 vaccination service with the phased deployment of the Moderna vaccine.
The roll out builds on the success of the existing COVID-19 vaccination service, which has now delivered over 115,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from almost 350 community pharmacies across Northern Ireland.
The Moderna vaccine was initially available from 16 pharmacies with more pharmacies being added to the service on a rolling basis over the coming weeks.
Minister Swann said: “Community pharmacy teams across Northern Ireland have already risen to the challenge by delivering over 115,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while continuing to provide their vital services to people in their communities at a time of immense pressure across the health and social care system.
Continued availability
“As well as the continued availability of the AstraZeneca vaccine to individuals over 40, the additional availability of the Moderna vaccine to eligible individuals aged 18 years and over will also provide more locations where those people who haven’t yet come forward to receive their vaccine to do so now.
“While the logistical challenges with deployment of the Moderna vaccine are considerable, the number of participating pharmacies offering Moderna will continue to increase over the coming weeks and this will help many more people to come forward to access their vaccine in an easy and convenient location for them.”
Cathy Harrison, Chief Pharmaceutical Officer said: “Pharmacy teams across Northern Ireland should be very proud of the contribution they have made to the success of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. Their actions have undoubtedly saved lives.
“The deployment of the Moderna vaccine from an increasing number of community pharmacies over the coming weeks will play a vital part in our continued fight back against the virus.”
Heart of local communities
Gerard Green, Chief Executive of Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland said: “We welcome the inclusion of Moderna to the COVID-19 vaccination programme, particularly for those in the under 40s age group. Community pharmacy is embedded in the heart of local communities, and this has been important in the vaccine roll out to date, providing patients with the option to receive their vaccine from a convenient and familiar health care professional, that they know and trust.
“As the Moderna vaccine is initially being rolled out to a limited number of pharmacies, I would ask the public to please be patient with community pharmacy teams as we continue to deliver pharmacy services and play our part in helping to protect the local population through the COVID-19 vaccination programme.”
Bigger role
The community pharmacy network in Northern Ireland has administered over 115,000 Covid-19 vaccines since taking up the vaccine programme in late March. As focus now turns to the booster programme, Community Pharmacy NI are calling on the Department of Health to expand the provision of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in local pharmacies when the booster vaccine is rolled-out in the autumn.
With more vaccine options becoming available in Northern Ireland, local community pharmacies are keen to play a bigger role in the roll-out of the Covid-19 vaccine programme with pharmacies able to vaccinate all age-cohorts. This will allow for other vaccinators to shift focus to other aspects of healthcare, and for community pharmacists to become the central vaccinating team within primary care.
Community Pharmacist, David McCrea, said:
“It has been great to be able to vaccinate our own patients and the familiar faces that we see every day, helping to protect both them and their families against Covid-19. Since the roll-out began, patients have commented on how easy it is to get the vaccine at their local pharmacy. Looking towards the autumn, we want to play a bigger role in the vaccine booster programme and from the initial success of our vaccination programme, it is clear our teams are agile, capable and professional in providing the vaccine to our communities. It only makes sense for this programme to be expanded to all ages when the range and supply of vaccines is greater and for the winter flu vaccine to also be provided through community pharmacies.
“We are also pleased to be able to offer the vaccine as it means we are able to support our patients who we know well, addressing any concerns they have and delivering a booster service ensures we can continue to provide this important level of care.”
