Czech pharmacy vaccination plan faces revisions after government debate

Czechia’s Health Ministry is revising a proposal that would allow vaccinations in pharmacies, Health Minister Adam Vojtěch told lawmakers Thursday. The government suspended consideration of the original legislation in mid-September.

Vojtěch said the revised bill could specify directly in law which diseases pharmacists would be allowed to vaccinate against, rather than leaving that decision to an accompanying regulation.

The minister did not give a timetable for bringing the proposal back to the government. Pharmacy vaccinations remain a proposed change, with political differences over how they should work.

Vojtěch discussed the legislation during parliamentary questions in response to Štěpán Slovák, the opposition Civic Democrats’ shadow health minister.

Slovák suggested that putting the list of eligible vaccinations directly into the legislation could help secure broader support in the Chamber of Deputies. He said much of the opposition was prepared to help pass the measure and did not rule out submitting a separate bill through lawmakers.

Vojtěch said he would welcome a parliamentary vote but could not yet say when the revised amendment to the public health protection law would be ready.

The health minister supports pharmacy vaccinations, arguing that easier access could also reduce costs for the public health insurance system. He said respiratory illnesses affect about two million people annually in Czechia, resulting in approximately 35,000 hospitalizations and 3,500 deaths.

However, the proposal faces reservations within the governing coalition, including from SPD and Boris Šťastný, the minister for sport, prevention and health.

In comments on the proposal, Šťastný acknowledged the benefits of preventive vaccination but argued that vaccines were already readily available through general practitioners, outpatient specialists and vaccination centers.

He raised concerns about managing possible adverse reactions when vaccines are administered outside those settings. He also argued that some members of the public could perceive the expansion of vaccination locations as indirect pressure to get vaccinated.

The debate comes as Czechia enters another flu vaccination season. More than 825,000 people received a flu vaccine last season, equivalent to approximately 7.5 percent of the population.

Flu vaccination is repeated each autumn because circulating viruses change and vaccines are updated. Public health insurance covers it for people older than 65, while younger people can often receive contributions from their employer or health insurer.

For now, anyone seeking a vaccination should continue to use existing providers. The revised proposal has no confirmed implementation date, and the final list of vaccines that pharmacies could administer has yet to be settled.