Community pharmacies in England vaccinated over 1.8 million people in the first six weeks of this year’s flu vaccination service, a 30 per cent increase on the same time in 2020, the PSNC has said.

PSNC data for flu jabs recorded via PharmOutcomes shows that by the end of October 12, 1.832 million vaccines has been administered, compared to 1.36 million recorded by both PharmOutcomes and Sonar by the same point last year.

This could put the sector on course to deliver a record breaking three million flu jabs this winter, said the negotiator, with more people seeking to protect themselves from the influenza virus.

PSNC services director Alastair Buxton said: “Local pharmacy teams have been leading the way in the NHS efforts to vaccinate a record number of people against flu. This is another brilliant performance by pharmacies and it reflects the hard work that contractors have been doing to prepare for a bumper flu vaccination season.

“We are on track for another record vaccination season: this shows just how much patients value the sector, and it will once again underline just how vital the pharmacy network is in meeting our nation’s public health needs.”