On this webpage, you will find information and FAQs about COVID-19 vaccines (updated 6th October 2026).

Booking for the Autumn COVID-19 vaccination programme is open for appointments from the 1st October 2026.

Why getting vaccinated is important

The NHS recommends topping up your protection against COVID-19 if you are in the defined high-risk group listed above. Evidence from the UK Health Security Agency shows that people who had a vaccination were less likely to be admitted to hospital for up to two months afterwards, compared to people who did not have one.

The Stratification of Clinically Vulnerable People for COVID-19 Risk Using Antibody Testing (STRAVINSKY) research study also provides supportive evidence for having a COVID-19 vaccination.

We encourage you to take up the offer of vaccination as it will help reduce the chances of you developing severe COVID-19 disease.   

Eligibility for Autumn 2026

You can get a COVID-19 vaccine if you:

  • are aged 75 or over (including those who will be 75 by 31 January 2027)
  • are aged 6 months to 74 years and have a weakened immune system because of a health condition or treatment. See Box 1 of the Green Book.
  • live in a care home for older adults

Further information:

How can I get my Autumn COVID-19 vaccination?

If you’re eligible for the winter COVID-19 vaccine, you can book a COVID-19 vaccination appointment online or in the NHS App now.

Vaccination appointments will take place from 1 October 2026.

From 1 October 2026, you may also be able to get vaccinated at:

  • a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site
  • a local service, such as a community pharmacy or your GP surgery
  • your care home (if you live in a care home for older adults)

You do not need to wait for an invitation before booking an appointment.

Timing of your vaccination  

It’s recommended that you get the Autumn COVID-19 vaccination 6 months after your last dose. It must be at least 3 months (91 days) since your last COVID-19 vaccination. You can get your Autumn COVID-19 vaccination regardless of whether you’ve had a COVID-19 vaccination before.

Who cannot take up the offer of a COVID-19 vaccine?  

There are very few eligible people who should not have a dose this autumn/winter. If you have had a severe reaction to a previous dose of the vaccine, you should discuss this with your doctor.  

Can I get the COVID-19 vaccine even if I have not had any previous doses?  

If eligible, you can get protection from a COVID-19 vaccination even if you have not taken up a COVID-19 vaccine offer in the past. Most people do not need extra vaccinations to make up for any they have missed, but your doctor may advise a further dose if you have a severely weakened immune system.  

Getting re-vaccinated after a stem cell transplant  

Anthony Nolan has information about re-vaccination following a stem cell transplant.   

If I’m not eligible, can I get a COVID-19 vaccination privately?  

You can get a COVID-19 vaccination privately. This may be of interest if you live with, or have regular contact with, someone who has a poorly functioning immune system and you don’t qualify for the national vaccination programme.  

Check with your local pharmacies whether they can offer this service. A vaccination can cost from £80 up to £140, depending on the provider and the vaccine type.  

Side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine

The most common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are mild and get better within a week. 

They can include:

  • a sore arm from the injection 
  • feeling tired 
  • a headache 
  • feeling achy 
  • mild flu-like symptoms 

The vaccine cannot give you a COVID-19 infection. 

How can I report a side effect of the vaccine? 

You can report side effects at the COVID-19 Yellow Card website.

Dr Tehseen Khan, GP and NHS Vaccination Programme Clinical Advisor has provided us with a statement on the COVID-19 vaccination programme:

“If you are living with a primary immunodeficiency (PID) or a secondary immunodeficiency (SID), how your body’s immune system works is affected, meaning you have reduced defence against viruses, such as COVID-19.

Secondary immunodeficiency can be caused by medical treatments that suppress the immune system. For example, chemotherapy, which is used to treat cancer, reduces the number of white blood cells, making it harder for the body to fight infections. Immunosuppressant drugs, often given after organ transplants or to treat autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, deliberately lower immune activity to prevent the body from attacking itself.

In addition, long‑term or high‑dose corticosteroid treatment, commonly used for conditions like asthma or inflammatory diseases, can weaken the immune response over time. As a result, people receiving these treatments are more likely to develop infections and may experience secondary immunodeficiency.

COVID-19 vaccines help reduce your risk of getting severe symptoms, recover more quickly if you do catch COVID-19 and reduces your risk of needing hospital care. They do not contain any live virus and cannot cause the disease itself.

Vaccines work by training your body’s immune system to recognise specific infections. Side effects of the vaccine are usually mild and show that your body is producing antibodies to protect itself.

If you have questions or concerns, I encourage you to speak to your medical team as they can provide evidence-based information.”

Frequently asked questions

In these circumstances it would be difficult to know which of the treatments has given a reaction if these are given in the same day.  Speak to your health team for advice that covers your specific medical circumstances.

COVID-19 vaccines authorised for use by the NHS are effective, provide a strong vaccine response, and have a good safety record. They have all met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness. These vaccines are regularly reviewed and updated to match circulating strains of COVID-19 where possible. 

Find out more about the COVID-19 vaccines used by the NHS: 

If you are taking medication, please bring a list of these with you to the vaccination centre. Do not bring the medicines themselves. If you are taking a blood thinner called ‘warfarin’ you will also be going for regular blood tests to monitor the thickness of your blood using a test called INR. The INR test result is a number (for example 2.5). Please make sure you know your latest INR reading and when that was last checked.  If you don’t know this, you can get it from your GP surgery.

Like all medicines, vaccines can cause side effects. Most of these are mild and short-term, lasting no longer than a week, and not everyone gets them. These may include: a sore arm where the needle went in; feeling tired; a headache; feeling achy; feeling or being sick.

You can take painkillers, such as paracetamol, if you need to. If you have a high temperature, you may have coronavirus or another infection. If your symptoms get worse or you are worried, call 111.

Read about the coronavirus vaccines and their side effects at https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/coronavirus-vaccine/ 

You can report side effects at Yellow Card Scheme – MHRA.

As with the previous Autumn COVID-19 vaccine campaigns in 2022-25, household contacts are not eligible.

If you are participating in a research study, such as the STRAVINSKY study, you may in time, get to know this, but, at the moment, there isn't routine testing to determine benefit. 

Patients should always seek personalised medical advice from their healthcare professionals and clearly inform the vaccine centre about their COVID-19 infection and any treatment that was given to treat the infection. For adults no specific period is mandated, however in general terms a minimum of clinical recovery to up to 4 weeks after a positive test is advised. This advice does not replace the need to obtain specific guidance from a healthcare professional with access to your full patient history. The guidance for children is different to adults and longer periods are advised between infection and vaccination (8-12 weeks).

All vaccines undergo extensive safety testing and must meet exacting standards to progress through the different stages of clinical trials. Their use must be approved and licensed before their use through expert review of all trial data through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). They check that the trial meets the necessary efficacy and safety levels. You can find out more about this process at http://vk.ovg.ox.ac.uk/vaccine-development

The safety of the vaccines will be monitored on an ongoing basis, as with all licensed drugs. This is undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) through the Yellow Card Scheme. Reports of suspected side effects are sent to the MHRA by drug companies (who are obliged to pass on any reports of suspected side effects that are defined as serious), health professionals, and patients themselves.

The data are evaluated each week, and the reported side effects are compared against the expected side effects as detailed in the information sheet for the vaccine. If a previously unidentified reaction emerges, or the frequency of reactions is not in line with what is expected, then the MHRA will investigate carefully. What happens next depends on the kind of side effect identified, but options include insisting that details of the new side effect are given in the product information leaflet or giving out warnings identifying groups of patients who should not be given the vaccine. In rare circumstances, the vaccine may be withdrawn from use.

The COVID-19 vaccine will reduce the chance of you becoming severely unwell. It may take a few days for your body to build up some extra protection from the vaccine. Like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective – some people may still get COVID-19 despite having a vaccination, but any infection should be less severe. 

There are very few individuals who cannot receive the COVID-19 vaccines approved in the UK. Where there is doubt, rather than withholding vaccination, appropriate advice should be sought from the relevant specialist e.g. an allergist or immunologist, or from the local immunisation or health protection team.

The Department of Health (DOH) green book (the DOH vaccine reference book) gives the following statement:

‘Anaphylaxis
Anaphylactic [severe allergic] reactions to vaccines are extremely rare but have the potential to be fatal. Between 1997 and 2003, there were 130 reports to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) of anaphylaxis or anaphylactic-type reactions following immunisation (excluding the meningitis C campaign), although no deaths as a result of the reaction were reported. In that time, around 117 million doses of all vaccines were supplied to hospitals and GPs. This rate (approximately one per million vaccine doses) is similar to that reported from other countries (Bohlke et al., 2003; Canadian Medical Association, 2002).’

Other reactions are non-anaphylactic vaccine events and they are more common, but can usually be managed with antihistamines or will go of their own accord.

If you have concerns discuss the issue with your health team.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) provides advice to the Government about this. They examine data on who suffers the worst outcomes from coronavirus and who is at highest risk of death.

No. The COVID-19 vaccine used by the NHS is 'inactivated', meaning it does not contain any of the live virus, so you 'cannot catch the illness' from having the vaccine. 

But the vaccine may take two weeks to be effective, so if you catch COVID-19 in that timeframe you may become ill. That is why we encourage people to have their vaccinations as soon as they can.  

Updated 6th October 2026.