Who can have the seasonal COVID-19 booster?
At the moment, those being prioritised for a seasonal booster dose (autumn booster) of the COVID-19 vaccine include people who are:
- aged 65 years old or over
- pregnant
- aged 5 years old and over and at high risk due to a health condition or weakened immune system
- aged 5 years old and over and live with someone who has a weakened immune system
- aged 16 years old and over and a carer, either paid or unpaid
- living or working in a care home for older people
- a frontline health and social care worker
Other people, including those aged 50 to 64 years old who are not at higher risk, will be able to get the booster jab later in the autumn 2022.
Where can I get the seasonal COVID-19 booster?
To get a seasonal booster (autumn booster) dose you can:
- book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment online for an appointment at a vaccination centre or pharmacy
- find a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site to get vaccinated without needing an appointment
You can have your seasonal booster (autumn booster) if it’s been at least 3 months since you had your previous dose.
If you have not had a 1st or 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine yet, you should have them as soon as possible. If you have a severely weakened immune system you should get an additional primary dose before you get a booster.
If you have COVID-19, or symptoms of COVID-19 but have not had a test, you should wait until your symptoms are better before you get the vaccine. You should ideally wait 4 weeks (28 days) if you’re aged 18 or over or 12 weeks (84 days) if you are aged 5 to 17 years old. This starts from the date your symptoms started or from the date of a positive test, whichever was earlier.