All COVID-19 vaccinations are free of charge and only available through the NHS. Text messages from the NHS will show as being sent from NHSvaccine and will only link to the NHS.uk website (opens in new window). The NHS will never ask you for your bank account or card details, your PIN or banking password, or ask you to press a button on your keypad.

Yes. You will also need to have had these before you have the booster. Everybody aged 12 and over is recommended to have the COVID-19 vaccinations. Details of what vaccinations you should have and when are published on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus-vaccination (opens in new window)

Current advice is that if you are aged 18 or younger, you should not have a COVID-19 vaccination until 12 weeks after you have been symptom-free. People aged over 18 should wait for four weeks. This gap is to allow your body to recover from the virus.

You can have your vaccinations at your GP practice, vaccination centres, community pharmacies and at walk in clinics. You can book an appointment through the NHS national booking service or visit a walk-in centre where you will not need an appointment. Depending on your age you will need to leave a gap between vaccinations and you will be given information about this when you have your  jab.

No. Although although some people may still be asked to wait for 15 minutes after receiving their vaccination. We used to ask everyone to wait for 15 minutes but because we need to rapidly increase the number of boosters given we have suspended the waiting time. You can read more about the reasons in the document “Waiting after your COVID vaccination” copies of which are at your vaccination centre. You can also read an online version of the document on the NHS website (opens in new window)

Side effects, if experienced, include:

• having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection. This tends to be worse around one to two days after the vaccination
• feeling tired
• headache
• general aches, or mild flu-like symptoms

You should rest and take paracetamol (follow the dose advice in the packaging) to help make you feel better. Although some people may feel feverish for two to three days, a high temperature is unusual and may indicate you have COVID-19 or another infection.

If you have any other COVID-19 symptoms or your fever lasts longer, stay at home and arrange to have a test. Symptoms following vaccinations normally last less than a week. If your symptoms seem to get worse or if you are concerned, you can call NHS111.

The Joint Committee for Vaccinations and Immunisations (JVCI) (opens in new window) recommended that people aged under 40 are offered an alternative vaccination where available.

Pregnant women are strongly advised to have the first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the booster. As well as being life-threatening for some people, there have been cases when having the COVID-19 virus while pregnant has resulted in early delivery and serious birth complications for mother and baby.

For more information about pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccination:

• Talk to your GP, midwife, health visitor, pharmacist .
• Visit  the National Childbirth Trust website at www.nct.org.uk (opens in new window).
• Visit the Royal College of Obstetricians website at /www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-womens-health/ (opens in new window).

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) (opens in new window) recommends that anyone who is severely immunosuppressed should have three doses of the vaccination plus a booster. This is because evidence shows that you may not have responded as well to the first and second vaccinations as other people, and therefore have less protection against COVID-19. The group affected includes people with leukaemia, advanced HIV, and people who have had recent organ transplants.

Your consultant has been asked to identify eligible patients and recommend when the best time is for them to have their doses. You will be contacted by your consultant or GP to arrange your vaccination.

You should have your booster three months after your third vaccination.

Children aged 12 – 15 are now being offered two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

A second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for young people aged 12 to 15 years is advised no sooner than 12 weeks after the first dose.

Some children may already have been offered / received two doses if they:

• are living with someone who is likely to get infections
• have a condition which puts their health at high risk if they catch COVID-19

Further details about vaccinations for 12-15 year olds is published on the NHS website at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus (opens in new window)

This is an additional vaccine dose offered to people who have already had two doses (or for immunosuppressed people, three doses) of a COVID-19 vaccine. It will help to ensure continued protection for those people at most risk from COVID-19.

Over time, the protection provided by the first two (or three) doses weakens. The booster provides additional protection against COVID-19, particularly for people who are most likely to become seriously ill from the virus, and for those who care for them. By having the booster, you are increasing your defence against the potential life-threatening symptoms of COVID-19.

Independent experts, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) (opens in new window) have said that everybody who has had the first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccination should receive the booster. People who are immunosuppressed should have the booster after they have had three doses of the vaccination.

No. You need to have completed the earlier doses before you can have your COVID-19 booster.

Current advice is that if you are aged 18 or younger, you should not have any COVID-19 vaccination until 12 weeks after you have been symptom free. People aged over 18 should wait for four weeks (including the booster). This gap is to allow your body to recover from the virus.

Yes, Pregnant women are strongly advised to have the first two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and the booster. As well as being life-threatening for some people, there have been cases when having the COVID-19 virus while pregnant has resulted in early delivery and serious birth complications for mother and baby.

For more information about pregnancy and the COVID-19 vaccinations:

• Talk to your GP, midwife, health visitor, pharmacist .
• Visit  the National Childbirth Trust website at www.nct.org.uk (opens in new window).
• Visit the Royal College of Obstetricians website at /www.rcog.org.uk/en/guidelines-research-services/coronavirus-covid-19-pregnancy-and-womens-health/ (opens in new window).

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

The NHS will contact you to let you know when it will be your turn to have your COVID-19 booster. This contact will be two months after you had your second (or third) vaccination. You can book an appointment through the NHS national booking service for a date three months after your last COVID-19 vaccination. If you decide to go to a walk-in centre rather than book an appointment, you will still have to wait until three months after your last dose before you can have your booster.

The booster vaccine is available through a range of NHS services. Primary care teams will vaccinate care home staff and residents. Health and social care staff will need to book through their employer. Members of the public can have their booster through their GP practice and / or will be contacted by the NHS to book through the national COVID-19 vaccination booking service and have their vaccination at a designated pharmacy, vaccination centre or GP-led service.

Generally, younger, healthy people are expected to generate stronger vaccine-induced immune responses from having two vaccinations, compared to older people.

After reviewing data on booster responses from different vaccine combinations, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI) (opens in new window) has advised that the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines (both are mRNA vaccines) are offered as the booster dose, even if you had a different vaccine for your earlier vaccinations. Both have been shown to be well-tolerated and promote a stronger booster response. If the Moderna vaccine is given as a booster, you will receive a half dose instead of a full dose. This is due to the short-term side effects seen after full doses were given in clinical trials.

Where mRNA vaccines cannot be given (for example due to an allergy), vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine may be considered as a booster for people who received the AstraZeneca vaccine in their earlier doses.

Side effects, if experienced, include:

• having a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm when you had your injection. This tends to be worst around one to two days after the vaccination
• feeling tired
• headache
• general aches, or mild flu-like symptoms.

You should rest and take paracetamol (follow the dose advice in the packaging) to help make you feel better. Although some people may feel feverish for two to three days, a high temperature is unusual and may indicate you have COVID-19 or another infection.

If you have any other COVID-19 symptoms or your fever lasts longer, stay at home and arrange to have a test. Symptoms following vaccinations normally last less than a week. If your symptoms seem to get worse or if you are concerned, you can call NHS111.

If you had serious side effects after any previous doses you may be advised to avoid or delay further vaccination. You should discuss this with your doctor or specialist.

Although the COVID-19 vaccination will reduce the chance of you suffering from the virus, like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective. It may take a few days for your body to build up some protection from the booster. Some people may still get COVID-19 despite having a vaccination of booster, but it should be less severe

Yes. Both vaccines can be given at the same time. We encourage you to have your vaccinations as soon as possible and get fully protected rather than waiting, as it may not always be possible to have them together, particularly at walk-in centres.