How to get a booster dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine

There are 3 types of boosters for the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine:

• A booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available for everyone aged 16 and over, and some children aged 12 to 15, who have had a 2nd dose of the vaccine at least 3 months ago.
• A booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine is available for anyone who had a severely weakened immune system when they had their first 2 doses and who had an additional primary dose (3rd dose) of the vaccine at least 3 months ago.
• A spring booster of the COVID-19 vaccine is available to people aged 75 and over, people who live in a care home for older people, or people aged 12 and over who have a weakened immune system.

If you have not had a booster dose yet, you’re still eligible and can book anytime. Although, if you’ve had a positive COVID-19 test, you need to wait before getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

People aged 18 and over, and eligible children aged 12 to 15, need to wait 4 weeks. Most young people aged 16 and 17 need to wait 12 weeks.

Boosters for people aged 12 and over

If you’re aged 16 or over and had your 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 3 months ago, you can:

• book your COVID-19 vaccination appointment online for an appointment at a vaccination centre or pharmacy – you can pre-book your booster dose if it’s been 2 months (61 days) since you had your 2nd dose
• find a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site to get vaccinated without needing an appointment
• wait to be contacted by a local NHS service such as your GP surgery and book your appointments with them

If you cannot book an appointment online, you can call 119 free of charge. You can speak to a translator if you need to.

If you have difficulties communicating or hearing or are a British Sign Language (BSL) user, you can use textphone 18001 119 or the NHS 119 BSL interpreter service.