Community pharmacies can begin supplying flu antivirals oseltamivir and zanamivir on the NHS, as of yesterday (3 December).

And prescribers working in primary care can begin prescribing these antivirals for patients with symptoms of flu.

The chief pharmaceutical officer (CPhO) and chief medical offer (CMO) wrote to NHS providers yesterday to authorise the use of the antivirals amid rising levels of flu.

They said influenza activity was increasing across all levels of care and is expected to rise further in the coming weeks.

The most notable changes include a ‘significant increase’ in influenza positivity in samples sent for laboratory surveillance, the letter said.

It also described an uptick in acute respiratory infection outbreaks and a ‘marked increase’ in those with influenza reported, mainly in care homes.

The announcement means that as per NICE guidance, prescribers in primary care can prescribe oseltamivir and zanamivir for those in clinical at-risk groups and anyone at risk of severe illness or complications from flu if not treated.

This can then be supplied from community pharmacies.

The letter stressed the importance of pharmacists ensuring that 'antiviral medicines are issued to patients promptly'.

Patients must start taking the antivirals within 48 hours of onset of symptoms, or within 36 hours of symptoms starting in children five years or older, who will be prescribed zanamivir.

The letter said that if pharmacies were unable to fulfil the whole prescription, they should 'consider how best to assist patients gain timely access to antivirals'.

This could include determining whether other community pharmacies locally have stock, and either arranging for the patient to collect the stock from that pharmacy or getting the stock transferred to the patient's original nominated pharmacy, the letter suggested.

It also recommended that prescribers consider using virological testing where available to determine whether a patient should have a clinical diagnosis of influenza, rather than another respiratory viral infection such as Covid-19.

The CPhO and CMO also reminded health and social care workers to have their flu vaccine now that ‘we are in influenza season’.

The latest figures published by the UK Health Security Agency for the week up to the 28 November showed GP consultations for influenza like illness in sentinel practices had increased from 3.7 per 100,000 patients to 4.5 per 100,000 in a week.

Emergency department attendances and hospital admission had also seen a rise, the figures showed.

Updated data on NHS staff vaccine uptake is expected later this month but public health officials recently warned that only 24% of GP surgery and hospital trust staff had received a flu vaccine and 14% had had a Covid vaccine.

Data so far on vaccine uptake shows 34.8% of the under 65s in a clinical risk group have been vaccinated along with 31.1% of pregnant women.

To date 70.3% of the over 65s have taken up the offer of a flu jab, the data of patients registered at a GP practice shows.

For primary school-aged children who can have the vaccine at school or through their GP, national uptake is 30% and for secondary school-aged children it is 17.4% – the highest on record at this time in the season, UKHSA said.