The number of people in this country who get a flu shot is significantly lower than the EU average. Only 5 to 8 percent of Czechs bother to get it ahead of the flu season and in the 65+ age group, where the EU target is 75 percent of seniors, it barely reaches the 20 percent mark.
In view of Czechia’s aging population, the health authorities are ringing alarm bells and emphasizing the need for more attention being paid to prevention.
Four branches of the Benu pharmacy chain — two in Prague, one in Brno and one in Ostrava — will take part in the pilot project. A reservation system will open in September, with vaccinations beginning in October.
The process will follow the standard medical practice. Patients will sign a consent form and be taken to a consultation room, where a physician — not a pharmacist — will administer the vaccine. As in a doctor’s office, they will be asked about the medicines they take and will be monitored briefly for possible reactions. Walk-ins will also be welcome if a doctor and vaccine are available.
Vaccinations will be offered on weekends between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., a schedule designed to suit people who struggle to find time during the workweek.
Aleš Krebs, head of the Czech Chamber of Pharmacists, says he has high hopes that the pilot project will be successful.
“Experience from abroad shows us that making the flu shot more easily accessible boosts public interest in getting it. Countries like Great Britain, France, Ireland introduced this ten, twenty years ago and it increased the uptake by ten percentage points and more. Also, pharmacies generally have longer working hours that GPs, who only reserve certain hours for vaccinations. So pharmacy vaccinations could potentially reach people unwilling or unable to visit a doctor.”
General practitioners, however, remain cautious. While not rejecting the idea outright, they want pharmacies to face the same obligations as doctors. Moreover, they doubt that demand will grow. Jakub Šedivý of the Association of General Practitioners says the problem in this country is low awareness of the benefits of vaccination as such and argues that he don’t see the point of opening more vaccination sites when the existing capacity is already underused. Moreover, some doctors fear the move could become more of a business opportunity for pharmacies than a public health tool.
Nonetheless, the pilot project is going ahead. A recent survey found that nearly half of Czech pharmacists would be willing to join such a program if it were introduced nationwide. The trial run will last for a month or two with evaluation continuing into late 2025. Any necessary legal changes would therefore fall to the next government.