Under a new NHS England advanced service pilot, community pharmacies in England will be able to provide flu vaccinations to children aged two to three years from 01 October 2025. The service has been agreed “as a trial for one season”.
Colleagues will remember that GP surgeries are able to start vaccinating this cohort alongside pregnant patients from 01 September 2025.
As part of a trial commissioned for the 2025/26 winter season, the NHS England initiative allows pharmacies to opt in and expand their role in delivering childhood vaccinations. Pharmacy contractors will receive £9.58 per vaccination administered, which will come from NHS vaccination budgets.
Community pharmacies have been commissioned to provide the service in order to improve uptake of the flu vaccine among children who are too young to be offered it at school and currently can generally only access it through their GP surgery. Community Pharmacy England are confident that pharmacy teams will be able to increase vaccination rates by providing a convenient and accessible service to parents and their eligible children. The community pharmacy service specification can be accessed here: NHS England » Community pharmacy seasonal influenza vaccine service. The GP service specifications can be accessed here: NHS England » General practice seasonal influenza vaccine.
GP practices may wish to take a note of the dates highlighted above and plan their own children’s vaccination clinics accordingly.