Vaccinations have been delivered to eligible groups across GPs, walk-in centres and in community pharmacies.
The unique value of the community relationships pharmacies was seen with the 167 participating community pharmacies which delivered 213,000 (46.7%) Covid-19 vaccinations of the l 455,000 in West Yorkshire.
Addressing health inequalities in our communities to tackle population health, especially around COVID-19 vaccination uptake, is a number one priority for the healthcare system in which we work.
In the most recent campaign, funding was secured to enable pharmacy teams to reach out to local communities in deprived community areas in our region to address vaccine hesitancy to encourage vaccine uptake in the wider population.
Adeel Sarwar of Roundhay Pharmacy, Harehills, Leeds said:
“Our pharmacy has worked with mosques day centres, churches and food banks for many years in the Harehills and Chapeltown areas. I serve a community, where it is known people typically have a lower life expectancy than in other areas. There are many socio-economic reasons for explaining the differences in both length and quality of life in these areas.
Roundhay Pharmacy has offered COVID-19 vaccinations alongside flu since September 2023. I have seen young healthy patients pass away unexpectedly from Covid-19 complications, so I was keen to support the service. It was very busy with the majority of patients in peak season being internet savvy, healthcare concerned populations from Harrogate, Alwoodley, Adel, Scarcroft and Wetherby. All were very grateful for the vaccine, and many had travelled some distance. It was great to be able to provide a service to these people, but where were the people of Harehills and Chapeltown?
My team and I took the chance to speak with our regular patients, though with limited success. By December 2023 we saw a significant tail off in vaccinations just as winter viruses were on the rise. So I was pleased to participate in this project, which is different to everyday pharmacy practice and gives us the opportunity to get out into the community. I have since been able to visit sheltered housing and day centres to visit ethnic minority elderly populations – not all chose to have the vaccination, some did but there were many useful conversations.
It has allowed me to address vaccine hesitancy which I see on a day-to-day basis but don't usually have the time or resources to tackle with quality conversations. While the multi-language leaflets have been useful, it has been the trust built over many years that has convinced the people who are hesitant to get vaccinated. We discuss other issues of lifestyle, hypertension, exercise, and diet.
We have also been worked with the media to explain what we have been doing and how this project is helping to raise awareness and tackle the concerns of people who are vaccine hesitant. During Advent last Christmas I contributed to a local online media article which looked at health issues faced in deprived areas and which covered the positive impacts of the project on health inequalities. I would not have been able to facilitate such a project at this time of year without support.
In January 2024, I joined Dr Mo Sattar on Radio Asian Fever to discuss vaccine hesitancy and how Covid-19 changes and why it’s important to get a vaccination to a largely Urdu Pakistani and south-Asian audience. Dr Sattar is the Clinical Lead for Chapeltown primary care network. We also discussed the upcoming Pharmacy First Service and other lifestyle changes people could make in the new year as part of their resolutions. It was a nerve racking and stressful experience – something I’m not used to however it appears to have been well received."