Information about Covid-19 and the Covid-19 booster vaccine
About the Covid-19 vaccine
The coronavirus
vaccine
A vaccine is medicine that helps your body to fight an infection in the future.
helps stop you from getting seriously unwell from coronavirus.
Coronavirus boosters help make sure your protection lasts, it’s important to get one every time you can.
It is given as an injection.
People on the learning disability register can get a coronavirus booster vaccine in the Autumn.
People with very low immune systems are offered an extra booster vaccine in the Spring. Some people with a
learning disability
A learning disability is to do with the way someone's brain works. It makes it harder for someone to learn, understand or do things.
will also be in this group.
People on the
learning disability register
The learning disability register is a list of people with a learning disability that the doctor’s surgery looks after.
can get a coronavirus booster vaccine in the Autumn.
People with very low immune systems are offered an extra booster vaccine in the Spring. Some people with a learning disability will also be in this group.
Who else can get a COVID (coronavirus vaccine):
People eligible for a COVID (coronavirus) booster vaccine include people who are:
• are aged 65 or over
• are pregnant
• are aged 6 months to 64 years and have an increased risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19 because of a health condition or treatment (including people with a learning disability on the learning disability register)
• live in a
care home
A care home is a place where people who need support live. There are staff there all the time.
for older adults
If you have a learning disability and have not been invited for your coronavirus booster vaccine – check you are on the GP surgery’s learning disability register
No. This year - Autumn 2024 - unpaid (family) carers are not eligible for a COVID vaccine booster. This is the information we have been given from
NHS
The NHS is the National Health
Service
A service gives people what they need, like healthcare services that help people when they are ill, and support services that give people support.
. The NHS gives free healthcare to everyone in the UK and includes things like your GP (doctors) surgery and hospitals.
England:
- For this year’s autumn programme, the COVID-19 vaccine will not be offered to unpaid carers and household contacts of people with immunosuppression in England. JCVI advice has continued to adapt as COVID-19 has changed from a pandemic threat to becoming a common milder infection. This
transition
Transition means changing from one thing to another. Transition sometimes means things like when you change from having children's
social care
Social care means the services that give care and support to people who need it.
to adult social care.
reflects the very high levels of immunity in the population against COVID-19. - This is because available COVID-19 vaccines only provide modest protection against acquiring mild or asymptomatic illness from the current highly transmissible Omicron sub-variants.
- The available vaccines continue to provide good additional protection against becoming severely ill (being hospitalised or dying). Those aged below 65 years who are otherwise healthy are not at high risk of severe COVID-19.
- Protection against transmission of infection from one person to another is expected to be even more limited. Therefore, the benefit of vaccinating an individual in order to reduce the risk of severe disease in other people is much less evident now compared with previous years.
Our understanding is that family carers in Wales can request a COVID booster vaccination from their GP, but will not be invited.
Visit our Winter vaccines page for more information and Easy Reads about the Covid-19 vaccine and the annual flu vaccine.
Take a look at our easy reads about coronavirus
Coronavirus guidance
Read the latest NHS
guidance
Guidance means being given clear instructions to be able to do something well.
on living safely with COVID-19
The impact of coronavirus
Read about the healthcare inequalities people with a learning disability faced during the coronavirus pandemic, and what we think needs to change.
Talk to us
If you need information or advice you can talk to our Helpline team
Contact the Helpline