COVID-19 and Flu Vaccination

by | 23/09/2024

COVID-19 vaccination information

The COVID-19 vaccine helps protect against COVID-19, which can be a serious or life-threatening illness for some people. It’s usually offered on the NHS in spring and early winter to people who need extra protection from COVID-19.

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
  • live in a care home for older adults

Carers and staff in care homes are not eligible, this is because the vaccination programme is targeted towards providing protection to those most vulnerable to severe disease. 

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.

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: