GPs have raised concerns about lack of fridge space in practices to store the new RSV vaccine, which they say could create ‘huge problems’ for the rollout.
Practices were asked to vaccinate older adults against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as part of essential contractual services this autumn.
From this month, the RSV vaccination programme was included as an essential service under the GP contract, following the JCVI’s recommendation last year that a cost-effective RSV immunisation programme should be developed to protect over-75s and infants.
All pregnant women will be offered the vaccine, from 28 weeks gestation.
But during an NHS England webinar last week, several GPs raised concerns about storing the vaccine due to lack of fridge space, especially since some practices already have ‘very little space due to flu vaccine delivery’.
One GP said: ‘RSV vaccine packaging size is a huge problem regarding fridge space. This should have been considered as we are being asked to do this concurrently with flu, shingles, covid, childhood flu and usual routine vac programs. Please can this be looked at.’
Another GP said that several practices in their PCN have had to buy another fridge, with cost implications involved.
Another said: ‘Is there any funding available to practices for fridges? As the vaccine packaging is large and also we have flu and covid vaccines to store at the moment, so space is sparse.’
‘Some practices cannot do the RSV until they have done their first few flu clinics due to the fridge space issue and size of vaccine stock. Has this been taken into consideration?’ another GP asked NHS England during the webinar.
NHS England did not provide a solution to this during the webinar, but said they were ‘aware that the pack size is slightly larger’.
An NHS England spokesperson told Pulse that if there are ‘capacity issues’, practices should consider weekly orders of vaccine.
They said: ‘GPs, as independent contractors, are responsible for their own premises, including management of clinical storage and fridge space.
‘Where there are capacity issues, practices should consider weekly orders of vaccine so that they do not have to hold excess stock.’
The vaccine used for the campaign is the bivalent recombinant vaccine developed by Pfizer called Abrysvo, which was licensed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in November last year.
RSV causes up to 15,000 babies under six months to be hospitalised in England every year and in winter, as many as one in six of all UK hospital admissions of babies and children are due to bronchiolitis with 80% of cases are associated with RSV.
For older adults in the UK, it is estimated that RSV leads to 175,000 GP visits and 14,000 hospital admissions annually.
