Covid jab confusion adding to pharmacy workload

Some people who are no longer eligible for the Covid vaccine under the NHS are opting to have it privately, Gurbaksh Singh said

Routine NHS Covid and flu vaccination appointments are taking four times longer than they should, a pharmacist has said, due to confusion over who is eligible.

Autumn Covid boosters have begun to be delivered across the country, but the rules for those who are eligible have changed since 2024.

Gurbaksh Singh, a superintendent pharmacist in Coventry, said it meant appointments that should take five minutes were taking 20.

Facing criticism regarding communication with patients, NHS England said the wording on its website had been changed to make it clearer that the eligibility criteria for Covid vaccines had been tightened.

While many patients are receiving text messages from their GP surgeries inviting them to get vaccinated against both viruses, most are discovering at pharmacies that they are only eligible for the flu jab.

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"When patients are coming in... the conversations you have to have over and over and over again to disappoint these patients saying actually you can only have the flu today, or we have to call their surgery to see if they are eligible," Mr Singh said.

"It takes a lot of time and manpower for us to do that. Checking the NHS records is a lot more work intense than it is if it was just a generalised vaccine appointment."

Donald Emmanuel said he was not confident on which jabs he was eligible for

Donald Emmanuel, 60, from Coventry, said he was not sure if he was eligible for the Covid vaccine after being invited to book his winter jabs on the NHS.

"I probably won't get the Covid because it was difficult to decide what the new criteria was," he said.

"So I thought I might as well put myself down for it, even if I don't, hopefully the people doing the job know whether I do qualify or don't qualify."

The changes to eligibility were made on the advice of a group of independent experts called the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which said Covid was now a "relatively mild disease for most people".

Last year the jab was offered for free to anyone 65 years old and over and those with a long list of chronic or long-term conditions.

That has been changed with the age limit raised to all those who turn 75 before January 2026, plus older care homes residents and people classed as immunosuppressed.

That includes those undergoing some cancer treatment and transplant patients, along with those living with HIV and some genetic disorders.

But it means many people with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, asthma and severe mental illness no longer qualify.

People who were previously eligible for the Covid vaccine are no longer able to access it on the NHS

Mr Singh said some people who found they were not eligible on the NHS were choosing to have the jab privately, at a cost of about £100.

"We've had lots of people who are actually worried more about the people that they live with for example," he said, including one patient who was worried they could pass the virus on to their 90-year-old mother.

In response to the problems, NHS England said the wording online had been changed to make it clearer the eligibility criteria had been tightened.

A spokeswoman added: "Please double check you are still eligible to receive a Covid vaccine before booking - the NHS website sets out whether your age, health condition or medication means you are eligible, and your GP practice or pharmacist will confirm this before giving you the vaccine."