English pharmacies will start rolling out Covid vaccines as the number of virus deaths in the UK has risen above 100,000.
The Boots and Superdrug branches will be among the six stores in England that can administer the injections from Thursday, while the government aims to vaccinate all people in the four most vulnerable groups by mid-next month.
Andrews Pharmacy in Macclesfield, Cullimore Chemist in Edgware, North London, Woodside Pharmacy in Telford and Appleton Village pharmacy in Widnes will be in the first group to dispense the injections, alongside Boots in Halifax and Superdrug in Guildford.
Boris Johnson also told MPs that distribution “will go 24/7 as soon as possible,” but said dose delivery remained the main barrier.
The Scottish government published its vaccine delivery plan Wednesday evening, including details on how many doses it expects to receive for each week until the end of May, which sparked a row with London, which has not published its figures.
The six pharmacies were chosen because they can deliver large amounts of the vaccine and facilitate social distance, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was “fantastic” that injections would be available on the high street.
“Pharmacies are at the heart of local communities and will make a big difference in our rollout program by providing even more local, convenient places to those who are eligible to receive their injection,” he said.
According to NHS England, more than 200 local pharmacies will be able to administer vaccines by the end of the month.
The pharmacies join the 200 hospitals, about 800 GP practices and seven massive vaccination centers where injections are already being distributed.
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer urged ministers to go ahead and use England’s 11,500 pharmacies to deliver vaccinations 24 hours a day by the end of next month.
The comprehensive vaccination service in England comes as the daily reported death toll in the UK hit a new high on Wednesday, with 1,564 fatalities within 28 days of a positive test.
According to the latest figures, the stark milestone of more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths has now passed in the UK, according to official data.