Boots UK study shows strong take-up of pharmacy-provided flu vaccinations

Boots UK has revealed the results of a new study showing the important role community pharmacies can play in the provision of vaccinations.

Conducted in partnership with the University of Nottingham, the study saw pharmacists requested to ask patients who received a flu vaccine between October 2014 and March 2015 to complete a questionnaire.

A sample of data covering 1,201 pharmacies indicated that pharmacy flu vaccinations are highly accessed by patients from all sociodemographic areas, and are particularly popular among carers, frontline healthcare workers and those of working age.

Trends pertaining to the timing of access shows this is likely to be due to the convenience and accessibility of pharmacies.

Marc Donovan, chief pharmacist at Boots UK, said: "This latest research not only demonstrates that community pharmacy flu vaccination services complement those provided by GPs, but also that there is a real opportunity for pharmacists to further support vaccination services."

This is a potentially important discovery, as only around 52 percent of at-risk patients were vaccinated during the 2014-15 flu jab campaign in England, lower than the target of 75 percent.