Everyone aged 5 and over can get a 1st and 2nd dose of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine.

*Please see separate sections on this website for 5-11 year olds and 12 -15 year olds.

If you are aged 16 or over you can get a 1st, 2nd or booster vaccination by visiting the national booking system or by calling 119. Alternatively, you can also walk in to some of our clinics without an appointment.

When to have your 2nd dose

If you're aged 18 or over, you should have your 2nd dose from 8 weeks after your 1st dose.

Most young people aged 16 and 17 should have their 2nd dose from 12 weeks after their 1st dose.

When to have your booster 

Everyone aged 16 and over who had a 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at least 3 months ago (91 days) can get a booster dose.

Book or walk-in to get your vaccination:

• Appointments can be booked via the National Booking System or by calling 119.
• Walk-in to a vaccination clinics (no appointment required, limited vaccine availability). 

Positive COVID-19 test result?

People aged 18 and over need to wait 4 weeks. Most young people aged 5 to 17 years old need to wait 12 weeks. If you or your child is aged 5 to 17 years old and at high risk from COVID-19, or lives with someone who has a weakened immune system, they will need to wait 4 weeks.

How will I be invited for the second dose of my vaccination?

If you have booked your first appointment online or by calling 119, you will normally book your 2^nd appointment at the same time as your first. If you have booked an appointment directly with your local GP vaccination service, you will usually organise your 2^nd appointment with them as well.

If you’ve attended a walk-in clinic for your first dose, you can also attend a walk-in clinic for your second dose. You can find the locations and opening times here.

Can I have my second dose in a different place?

If you book online, you'll be shown the closest available appointment locations. Most people will have their second dose at the same location they had their first dose.

If you had your first dose through a GP service, you'll be be invited for your second dose through the same GP service.

If you had your first dose at a Hospital Hub site, you should be invited or be able to book your second dose at the same location.

There are circumstances in which it may be appropriate for you to get your second dose in a different location to their first dose, for example, discharged outpatients, students, doctors in training on rotation to hospitals, people who have become housebound or moved into a care home since their first dose, or patients who have moved to a new house to somewhere a long way away from where they had their first dose.

How effective is the first vaccine injection without getting the second one? 

It is important to have both doses of the vaccine to give you the best protection. While the first dose acts as an important immune response primer, the second dose is needed to boost your body’s immune response to the COVID-19 virus providing the best protection for you.

Immunity is not instant once you have received your vaccination. It will take a time for your body to produce the antibodies needed to produce an effective immune response to fight future COVID-19 infection. It is important that even after you have had the COVID-19 vaccine you adhere to the current public health advice including social distancing and practicing good hand and respiratory hygiene.

What happens if a person has the first jab but not the second? 

Pfizer, Moderna and the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines have been authorised on the basis of two doses. This is because evidence from the clinical trials shows this gives the maximum level of protection. The evidence doesn’t show any risk to not having the second dose, other than not being as protected as you otherwise would be. We would urge everyone to show up for both of their appointments for their own protection as well as to ensure we don’t waste vaccines or the time of NHS staff.

If I had the Pfizer vaccine in the first jab, can I have the AstraZeneca vaccine for my second one?

If you have a first dose of one vaccine, your second dose will be of that same vaccine too. In certain exceptional circumstances, for example, an extremely bad reaction to the first dose, where the type of first dose is unknown or unavailable, different types of vaccine may be given (Public Health England’s Green Book.)

Public Health England, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have all been very clear that in the absence of trial data to show it is safe and effective, doses should not be mixed.

What happens if I don’t go for my second appointment?

The first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will provide short term protection. It is important to get the second dose to provide fuller, longer term protection against COVID-19.

What is the second dose guidance for pregnant women?

PHE’s Green Book advises that ‘Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are the preferred vaccines for pregnant women of any age, because of more extensive experience of their use in pregnancy. Pregnant women who commenced vaccination with AstraZeneca, however, are advised to complete with the same vaccine’. ‘If a woman finds out she is pregnant after she has started a course of vaccine, she may complete vaccination during pregnancy using the same vaccine product (unless contra-indicated). Alternatively, vaccination should be offered as soon as possible after pregnancy.’