North Kirklees pharmacies 'astounded' they've had no call to help deliver Covid-19 vaccine programme

Riyaz Patel, a director at Mileusnic Chemist in Upper Commercial Street, said pharmacies already delivered the flu vaccine and staff were trained and ready to go.

“I am astounded why they aren’t using us,” said Mr Patel. “The Government appear to have given some money to an online pharmacy and will be using 50 Morrisons sites across the UK but why not use bricks and mortar pharmacies? We are here.”

Mr Patel said he feared the decision was a financial one. “All I can think is that the Government would have to pay pharmacies for each vaccination and they’ve made this decision to cut costs.

“But given the billions of pounds we have thrown at the virus so far money shouldn’t be an issue. This is a time of crisis.

“The Government still seems to see us as chemists counting pills. We do so much more than that.”

Ifti Gulfraz, who runs Eye Pharmacy shops in Ravensthorpe and Mirfield, agreed pharmacies were ready – but warned patience was needed.

“The roll-out of the vaccine is going to take time,” he said. “We are keen to get involved but the planning has to be right.

“It’s all about logistics and supply and that needs to be organised first. We saw last week the Health Secretary Matt Hancock visit a GP surgery to launch the roll-out of the vaccine but when he got there the vaccine hadn’t arrived.”

Mr Gulfraz said the Pfizer vaccine needed to be stored at -70C and then only had a five-day shelf life and that would pose problems for pharmacies. The Oxford vaccine and others coming on stream would be easier to handle.

Mr Gulfraz said his pharmacy was rejected for delivery of the Pfizer jab because they needed more space but he was confident of approval for the other vaccines when applications were open.

“In our area we have been a bit slow to get started on vaccinations but it’s a learning curve for everyone,” he said. “We just need to be patient.”

Problems delivering Covid-19 vaccination programme

The vaccine roll-out in Dewsbury and Liversedge got off to a false start in mid-December when drive-through centres were set up – only to be shut down before they opened. Appointments were postponed and many have yet to be rescheduled.

The Pfizer vaccine means people have to wait for 15 minutes afterwards to ensure there is no ill effects which meant drive-throughs weren’t safe.

A new Dewsbury centre is due to open in Wellington Road to go along with the district’s main hub at the Al Hikmah Centre in Batley. The John Smith’s Stadium in Huddersfield will also become a vaccine centre.

A spokesman for the North Kirklees CCG said: “Our 27 North Kirklees GP practices have been working together with the CCG to put in place alternative arrangements.

“Some of the affected patients have now received their vaccination and the remainder will be contacted by their GP practice.”

Covid infection rates in Kirklees rose by 63% last week and led to calls for people to follow lockdown restrictions more closely.

Rachel Spencer-Henshall, strategic director for public health at Kirklees Council, said: “In Kirklees there were more than 1,000 new positive cases in the last week, with 74 people admitted to hospital and 15 sadly passing away.

“This rapid increase, and the increased transmissibility of the new variant means we all need to play our part in preventing our situation from growing in seriousness as we have seen in other parts of the country.”