People who are over 70 and haven’t had their first vaccination can contact the NHS National Booking Service for an appointment.

In West Yorkshire, we expect to have reached everyone in the first four priority groups by the middle of February but if you haven’t heard from us yet and want to book an appointment, please visit www.nhs.uk/covid-vaccination.

This will allow you to choose a time slot and location that suits you. If you are not able to book online you can call 119 free of charge, between 7am and 11pm seven days a week. (Please be aware that phone lines can get very busy so you may prefer to call later in the day when it is can be less busy.)

This is only available for first vaccination appointments and if you are aged 70 or over. Everyone else will still need to wait to be contacted by the NHS when it is their turn for a vaccination or for an appointment for their second vaccination if they don’t already have one.

You still need an appointment to get a vaccination so please do not go to any of the centres unless you have one booked. This is important because booking slots are carefully managed to allow for social distancing and the number of appointments is based on the supply available that day.

GP practices are contacting all patients who are registered as clinically extremely vulnerable and have been asked to shield to ensure they have been offered a vaccination, as well as people in the eligible cohorts who are housebound. If you haven’t been contacted yet, you should hear from your practice this week.

Finding your NHS number

You can still book an appointment if you don’t have your NHS number, provided you are registered with a GP practice. However, it will be quicker if you have your number: this will be on any letter or document you have received from the NHS, including prescriptions, or you can find it online at

www.nhs.uk/find-nhs-number

Registering with a GP

You can find a GP practice on the NHS.uk website. You will need to fill in a form to register – for some practices you can do this on their website so check there first. Alternatively, you can download a GMS1 registration form on GOV.UK or arrange a time to pick up a registration form from the GP surgery. If you have problems registering with a GP practice, call the NHS England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 311 22 33.