It was reported earlier this week that high street pharmacies were being ‘snubbed’ in the government’s rollout of the Covid vaccine.
While supermarket car parks have been highlighted as key vaccine centres, local pharmacies are said to have been left at the side of the rollout - despite being ‘willing and ready’ to assist.
Kapoor Pharmacy Services (KPS) is one of the first local community pharmacies commissioned by the NHS to provide the Covid vaccination to the south Manchester community.
KPS has pharmacies across south Manchester including Chorlton and Whalley Range.
The pharmacy is now in the process of setting up a vaccination clinic at Whalley Range Tennis and Cricket Club, which is aiming to open on Monday, January 18.
Work is underway on converting the clubhouse into a temporary health facility and, once opened, the clinic is expected to be in use from 8am until 8pm seven days a week.
For Aneet Kapoor, owner of KPS and chair of the Greater Manchester Local Pharmaceutical Committee, it’s an ‘exciting’ opportunity to showcase how community pharmacies can be at the frontline of the vaccination rollout.
“I’m absolutely overwhelmed to be given this opportunity and to be able to give back to the community,” Aneet tells the Manchester Evening News .
“We decided to take it to the Cricket Club so that we were able to continue serving our patients at the pharmacy.
“We’ve sponsored the club for a number of years now so it’s been wonderful to be able to bring all of that together where we can work together in order to provide support for the local community and beyond.”
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While leading names like Boots, Lloyds and Superdrug are already heavily involved in setting up vaccination centres, many community pharmacies are still awaiting further instruction from NHS England on how they can be part of the national rollout.
Aneet believes that having local vaccination centres will be an crucial step in effectively rolling out the vaccination in the next year.
“We have been doing vaccines for a long time, we’re seasoned veterans when it comes to offering the flu vaccine,” he adds.
“It’s important to do this properly and ensure patients are able to receive the vaccine as closely as possible to where they live by making it as accessible as possible.
“Our opening times highlight that, and how it can work for them. They will have an opportunity to book their vaccine at a time that’s convenient for them that’s also near to them.
“It’s important that the vaccination is opened up even wider because as we go through the cohorts for specific ages and groups, the numbers are naturally only going to keep on increasing.”
The centre will make it easily accessible to residents in Chorlton, Whalley Range, and Fallowfield.
Whalley Range Tennis and Cricket Club has said that the clubhouse will remain out of bounds for members while it used as a vaccine centre.
