First private Covid-19 vaccination service launched

A private healthcare provider has launched what it argues is the UK’s first private Covid-19 vaccination service.

The move by Pharmadoctor, which provides medical services via pharmacies, follows predictions last year that private Covid jabs would become available this year following the more limited NHS vaccination programme that took place over the autumn.

Pharmadoctor has said members of the public will be able to go to their local Pharmadoctor-registered pharmacies to get a private Covid jab for £45.

At present only people aged 65 years and above or those who are clinically vulnerable qualify for the free NHS Covid vaccination.

The jabs will be available to patients aged 12 years and over, provided they pass a face-to-face consultation with a pharmacist.

Currently, 27 pharmacies in England and Scotland are listed as offering appointments for the jabs, although the company has said it expected the figure to grow.

Pharmadoctor chief executive Graham Thoms said: “Our new private Covid vaccination pharmacy service follows other private respiratory vaccination services that we’ve pioneered in pharmacy over the last twenty years including the UK’s first pharmacy flu, pneumonia and RSV vaccination services.”

Whether this move is the beginning of a wider expansion of access to private Covid vaccinations, perhaps via workplaces, remains to be seen.

However, both the UK Health Security Agency and vaccine manufacturer Moderna have said that they are open to the idea in principle, with Moderna reportedly “exploring the possibility and viability” of providing Covid-19 vaccines to healthcare providers for private sale.

There have also been calls to make access to Covid jabs available privately in much the same way as flu vaccinations, whether through pharmacies or via employers, to reduce sickness absence from the virus as well as the threat of long Covid.

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