Sir Keir Starmer has backed a regional publisher’s fight to open thousands of local pharmacies as coronavirus vaccination centres.

The Labour leader has lent his support to the ‘A shot in the arm’ campaign, which was launched by JPIMedia on Monday.

JPIMedia’s titles across the country have urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to deploy the country’s network of 11,000 pharmacies for the purpose after readers across the country expressed concern about vaccine arrangements.

Six pharmacies began delivering the jab today and Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said they will make a “big difference to our rollout programme”.

Portsmouth daily the News splashed on Sir Keir’s backing yesterday

But Sir Keir has now backed JPIMedia’s call for the Government to go further in the way it uses pharmacies.

He said: “The whole country wants this rollout to succeed. We were the first to get the vaccine and if we get this right and pull together, I know we can be the first country to roll it out successfully.

“To do that, the Government needs to match the nation’s ambition with a 24/7 rollout which harnesses all the expertise and dedication our country has to offer.

“Every high street has a pharmacy and I want to see every possible pharmacy deployed to help.

“Labour will play our part. Labour councils are already stepping up, supporting their communities and making generous offers of support to the Government.

“Across those communities, pharmacists stand ready to play their part too. Let’s use them, and let’s vaccinate Britain.”

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