Asda becomes first supermarket to provide in-store Covid vaccinations

The Leeds-based supermarket has been selected by NHS England to operate a vaccination centre from an in-store pharmacy in Birmingham and qualified Asda pharmacy colleagues will administer the vaccine to priority groups identified by the NHS.

Roger Burnley, Asda CEO and president, said: “We are incredibly proud to provide this service and are keen to do all we can to help the NHS and Government accelerate the rollout of the vaccination programme."

Asda is transforming its George department to make space for the vaccination centre - which will operate 8am to 8pm, seven days a week and have the capacity to administer 250 jabs per day.

The site is the first Asda pharmacy to be approved to support the Pfizer /BioNTech vaccine programme. The Leeds-based supermarker added that it was continuing to work with Public Health England and NHS England to assess other sites within its estate that could support this programme.

Individuals in priority groups will receive their appointment from the NHS and have the option to select the Asda store as a location to receive their vaccination. They are bening told not to contact the store directly.

Asda has also offered NHS England the full use of its 238 in-store pharmacies and qualified pharmacists to support the rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine programme which has just begun.

As this variant of the vaccine is easier to transport and store, it could be administered from Asda’s full network of in-store pharmacies throughout the country.

Mr Burnley added: “We have an extensive nationwide logistics network that could support the storage and distribution of the vaccine and our highly-trained pharmacy colleagues are experienced in delivering large vaccination programmes, having recently provided nearly 200,000 flu jabs to members of the public.

"We are on hand to provide the NHS with any practical support required so that more people can quickly receive the vaccine.”

He also wrote to Asda’s customers this morning to update on what Asda is doing in the fight against Covid-19. In an email, he said: “it’s crucial that we all play our part, support one another, and help take the pressure off the NHS".