Over one million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in pharmacies throughout Ireland, the Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) has said.

According to IPU president and community pharmacist, Dermot Twomey, pharmacies nationwide have “proven their immense value to their communities by their participation in the vaccination programme”.

“As experts in community vaccination and trusted healthcare professionals, pharmacists are committed to helping deliver on the public health agenda to vaccinate people against the Covid-19 virus,” Mr Twomey commented.

Pharmacists first started providing the Covid-19 vaccine in June 2021 and are currently vaccinating around 2,000 individuals on a daily basis.

However, Mr Twomey noted that a high number of people who are seeking appointments are not eligible to receive the vaccine, either because they are not in the targeted cohort or because they were infected with Covid within the previous four months. He is encouraging people to check their eligibility prior to making an appointment.

Meanwhile, Mr Twomey emphasised that the success of pharmacy involvement in the vaccination campaign “underlines the value of the role we can play”. He insisted that people want pharmacies to expand the provision of vaccines to other areas.

“Everything from travel vaccines to the chicken pox vaccine should be available in the convenience of local pharmacies. More than 85% of the population lives within 5km of a pharmacy. So by enabling pharmacies to vaccinate, you make it easier and more convenient for people to protect themselves and our wider society,” he said.