COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination

by | 23/09/2024

COVID-19 vaccination information

People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, and those aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system will be offered a dose of COVID-19 vaccine this spring. Carers and staff in care homes are not eligible, this is because the vaccination programme this spring is targeted towards providing protection to those most vulnerable to severe disease. 

You should be offered an appointment between April and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. You will be invited to have your booster around 6 months after your last dose, but you can have it as soon as 3 months. The NHS will invite you to come forward but you do not need to wait for this, if you are eligible book as soon as possible via the National Booking System. If you or someone you know can’t get online, book by calling  119  free of charge, where a translator is available if needed. Last appointments will be on 30 June 2026, with the last day to book on 29 June.  

If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you do not have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.

Useful COVID-19 resources:

Flu vaccination information

There are no changes to eligible cohorts for the 2026 to 2027 programme. The following cohorts, based on the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), are announced and authorised to be eligible to receive a flu vaccination:

From 1 September 2026:

  • pregnant women
  • all children aged 2 or 3 years on 31 August 2026
  • primary school and secondary school-aged children (from reception to year 11)
    • (individuals 17 years and over attending a special education needs (SEN) school and who are in a clinical risk group may also be vaccinated alongside their peers)
  • all children in clinical risk groups aged from 6 months to less than 18 years (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza Chapter)

From 1 October 2026:

  • those aged 65 years and over
  • those aged 18 years to under 65 years in clinical risk groups (as defined by the Green Book, Influenza Chapter)
  • those in long-stay residential care homes
  • carers in receipt of carer’s allowance, or those who are the main carer of an elderly or disabled person
  • close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
  • frontline workers in a social care setting without an employer-led occupational health scheme, including those working for a registered residential care or nursing home, registered domiciliary care providers, voluntary managed hospice providers and those that are employed by those who receive direct payments (personal budgets), or Personal Health budgets, such as personal assistants

All frontline health care workers, including both clinical and non-clinical staff who have contact with patients, should be offered flu vaccine from 1 October as a vital part of the organisation’s policy for the prevention of the transmission of flu. Employers should make the vaccine accessible for all frontline staff, encourage staff to get vaccinated, and monitor the delivery of their programmes. 

Useful flu resources: