News | Infectious diseases

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Stronger regulatory oversight needed for self-testing kits, review concludes

Authors of the cross-sectional review found that nearly three-quarters of over-the-counter testing kits “did not progress or close care pathways”.…

Published: 24 July 2025

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Pharmacies to offer children’s flu vaccinations from October 2025

The NHS England advanced service will enable community pharmacies to opt in and expand the delivery of vaccines to children too young to be offered them in school.…

Published: 24 July 2025

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Community pharmacies in 2024/2025 administered highest number of flu vaccinations outside of pandemic

Of the 4 million flu vaccinations delivered by community pharmacies in England during the 2024/2025 flu season, data show that 11% were administered in the most deprived areas.…

Published: 17 June 2025

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MHRA publishes ‘world first’ decentralised manufacturing guidance

The guidance will inform the manufacture of medicines with a short shelf-life or highly personalised medicines at sites within or in close proximity to hospitals.…

Published: 13 June 2025

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UK issues first guideline on post-exposure prophylaxis for syphilis

The British Association for Sexual Health and HIV has highlighted research that shows how doxycycline post-exposure prophylaxis reduces syphilis cases by 80%.…

Published: 11 June 2025

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Walk-in flu vaccine finder for community pharmacy to be launched for 2025/2026 flu season

NHS England said the “flu walk-in finder” was developed in response to patient feedback that complained of restrictions to the national booking service and a lack of information on clinic times.…

Published: 9 June 2025

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‘Massive change’ in antibiotic prescribing for children in primary care since COVID-19

Speaking at the Clinical Pharmacy Congress 2025, Kieran Hand announced that the number of patients aged under ten years old prescribed antibiotics in primary care had increased.…

Published: 2 June 2025

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Pharmacy flu vaccine delivery to over-65s increased by 20 percentage points in five years

Data from the UK Health Security Agency show that since 2019/2020, the proportion of vaccines administered to at-risk patients via community pharmacies rose from 11.4% to 26.7%.…

Published: 28 May 2025

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C. difficile cases increase by one-third over three years, government data show

Data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show that a three-year increase in Clostridioides difficile infections in England was observed across all seven UKHSA regions.…

Published: 12 May 2025

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Antibiotic could help tackle drug-resistant gonorrhoea, study results suggest

Researchers found that gepotidacin was as effective as the current recommended first-line therapy for gonorrhoea.…

Published: 22 April 2025