The UK Towns and Cities that are best and worst prepared to rollout the Covid-19 Vaccine

We analysed data from 16,794 community pharmacies in the UK to see which areas are best prepared for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

In this report we have pulled pharmacy data for 16,794 pharmacies in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland over 3 years. Our analysis aimed to understand the prevalence and availability of pharmacies around the UK, how those numbers are changing and how this may impact the rate at which the Covid vaccine is rolled out.

Our findings show that some areas of the UK have nealy 6 times the number of vaccines to administer when compared to areas in London.

6 community pharmacies throughout Britain began a rollout of the coronavirus vaccine on Wednesday January 13^th. However, despite this breakthrough, which came almost a year after the first lockdown was announced, there are calls from all corners of the UK to offer the vaccine in all 16,794 local pharmacies.

By analysing the population and total numer of pharmacies in certain areas throughout the UK, we were able to determine which pharmacies would be under the most pressure to deliver the vaccine and what impact this could potentially have on the rate at which the vaccine is rolled out.

4 of the top 5 areas with the best access to pharmacies in the whole of the UK are dominated by London postcodes.

Our findings show that areas of Central London have the best access to community pharmacies with 1,131 people for every 1 pharmacy. On the other end of the spectrum, Salisbury was found to have nearly 6,000 people for every 1 pharmacy.

What does this mean for the UK vaccine rollout?

Quote from Jon Higham, Managing Director of Online Clinic Medicine Direct

"Our findings show that many regions throughout the UK are well equipped to cope with a mass rollout of the vaccine through community pharmacies. There will undoubtedly be delays in rolling out the vaccine in certain areas of the UK.

With a handful of pharmacies already carrying out vaccinations, this is the ideal time for a mass rollout in areas that can easily cope with the demand.

It's also easy to forget that the vaccine consists of 2 doses for every adult. To put this into perspective, for many Central London pharmacies this is equal to around 2,200 doses in total, whereas Salisbury pharmacies have to administer around 12,000 doses.

My concern is that with the current demand for the covid vaccine among community pharmacies, this may lead to normal 'every day' patients facing delays when it comes to their regular checkups and receiving the medicine they need on time.

As for areas like Salisbury and Hereford, this research also clearly suggests that rolling out the vaccine in these places sooner rather than later will alleviate the pressure to cope with demand. It will also ensure that those who are most at risk can be safely and swiftly vaccinated."

The top 20 places in the UK with the best access to pharmacies

Unsurprisingly, Central London is the area with most pharmacies per capita, with the EC postcode area of the city serving just 1,132 people per pharmacy. Our research revealed that the EC postcode district of Central London has 30 pharmacies to serve a population of 33,956. The WC postcode area of Central London takes second place, with 21 pharmacies to serve a population of 35,745 people; this equates to 1,702 people per pharmacy.

4 of the top 5 areas with the best access to pharmacies in the whole of the UK are dominated by London postcodes.

Further findings on which areas are most likely to benefit from a mass rollout of the vaccine can be seen on the table below:

Pharmacy Access By Region

We hear the argument about a north-south divide all the time, however; is there really a north south divide when it comes to access to pharmacies? We have analysed each region across the UK and it makes for interesting reading.

Of course different UK regions will benefit from much faster vaccination rates than others, this is largely down to the number of pharmacies available when compared to population figures

The 5 best areas in London

Now that you have seen the areas in London with the best access to pharmacies, what about the areas with the worst access to pharmacies?

The 5 worst areas in London for Pharmacy access are:

1. Bromley = 3,739 people per pharmacy
2. Enfield = 3,554 people per pharmacy
3. Romford = 3,519 people per pharmacy
4. Kingston upon Thames = 3,461 people per pharmacy
5. Ilford = 3,425 people per pharmacy

Based on our data, Bromley is the worst area in London for community pharmacy access with 3,739 people for every 1 pharmacy.

The 5 best areas in the East Midlands

Leicester comes out on top in the East Midlands with 3,031 people per pharmacy. When we compare this data against the top 5 areas in London with the best access to pharmacies, not only is it closer to competing with the areas in London with the worst access to pharmacies, it also has nearly 3 times more people per pharmacy than the top performing area in Central London.

Leicester was also the first area of the UK to also get put into its own "local lockdown" after the majority of the UK. Local pharmacies in this area will be keen to get started on the rollout of the vaccine sooner rather than later.

Out of the top 5 areas with the best access to pharmacies in the East Midlands, 4 of those areas would be firmly in the top 5 areas with the worst access to pharmacies in central London.

The 5 best areas in the West Midlands

Unsurprisingly Birmingham has the best access to pharmacies in the west midlands with just 2,920 people for every 1 pharmacy.

The top 5 areas in the West Midlands with the worst access to pharmacies:

1. Hereford = 5,509 people per pharmacy
2. Worcester = 4,718 people per pharmacy
3. Telford = 4,087 people per pharmacy
4. Dudley = 3,635 people per pharmacy
5. Stoke-on-Trent = 3,446 people per pharmacy (also features in the top 5 best)

Not only is it the worst area for pharmacy access in the West Midlands, Hereford also takes 2nd place in the area with the worst access to pharmacies in the UK.

The 5 best areas in the East of England

Watford has the best access to pharmacies throughout the East of England with nearly 1,000 people less per pharmacy than Southend-on-sea which takes second spot.

The 5 Worst areas in the East of England for pharmacy access are

• Cambridge = 4,480 people per pharmacy
• Peterborough = 4,200 people per pharmacy
• Chelmsford = 4,189 people per pharmacy
• Hemel Hempstead = 4,140 people per pharmacy
• Norwich = 4,014 people per pharmacy

Cambridge is the worst area in the East of England for Pharmacy access with 4,480 people for every 1 pharmacy in the area.

The 5 best areas in the North East

Sunderland, with just over 3,000 people per pharmacy takes the top spot across the entire North East of England.

The 5 best areas in the North West

Surprisingly Blackburn takes top spot across the whole of the north west, providing better access to community pharmacies than major cities such as Manchester and Liverpool.

The 5 Worst areas in the North west for pharmacy access are:

1. Chester = 4,048 people per pharmacy
2. Carlisle = 4,026 people per pharmacy
3. Wigan = 3,913 people per pharmacy
4. Crewe = 3,820 people per pharmacy
5. Stockport = 3,614 people per pharmacy

Chester is the worst area in the North West for pharmacy access with 4,048 people for every 1 pharmacy.

The 5 best ares in the South East

The 5 Worst areas in the South East for pharmacy access are:

1. Reading = 5,189 people per pharmacy
2. Southampton = 4,929 people per pharmacy
3. Tonbridge = 4,637 people per pharmacy
4. Guildford = 4,566 people per pharmacy
5. Oxford = 4,510 people per pharmacy

Reading has the worst access to a pharmacy across the South East with 5,189 people for every 1 pharmacy. Reading also comes in at 3 on the list across the entire UK.

The 5 best areas in the South West

Bournemouth has the best access to pharmacies in the South West, with a total of 143 pharmacies. This equates to 3,860 people per pharmacy.

The 5 Worst areas in the South West for pharmacy access are:

1. Salisbury = 5,955 people per pharmacy
2. Swindon = 4,986 people per pharmacy
3. Taunton = 4,812 people per pharmacy
4. Truro = 4,742 people per pharmacy
5. Dorchester = 4,728 people per pharmacy

Salisbury is not only the area with the worst access to pharmacies in the South West, it also tops the list across the entire UK. 

5 of the top 10 worst areas for pharmacy access in the UK are located in the South West of England.

The 5 best areas in Yorkshire and The Humber

Bradford has the best access to pharmacies across Yorkshire with just 2,617 people per pharmacy.

The 5 worst areas in yorkshire for Pharmacy access are:

1. Harrogate = 4,607 people per pharmacy
2. York = 4,431 people per pharmacy
3. Doncaster = 3,877 people per pharmacy
4. Hull = 3,545 people per pharmacy
5. Sheffield = 3,527 people per pharmacy

Harrogate has the worst access for pharmacies across Yorkshire and the Humber with 4,607 patients per pharmacy.

The 5 best areas in Scotland

Lewick in Scotland is the only area outside of London to appear in the top 5 of areas with the best access to pharmacies throughout the UK.

In total, Scotland has 2 areas that feature within the top 10 areas throughout the entire UK.

Scotlands worst 5 areas for Pharmacy access are:

1. Edinburgh = 4,521 people per pharmacy
2. Dundee = 4,453 people per pharmacy
3. Motherwell = 4,352 people per pharmacy
4. Kirkcaldy = 4,281 people per pharmacy
5. Aberdeen = 4,095 people per pharmacy

Surprisingly one of Scotlands major cities, Edinburgh; tops the list of areas in Scotland with the worst access to community pharmacies.

Areas of the UK with the worst access to pharmacies