In response to the national effort to protect people against the Omicron variant, the NHS is working to offer everyone aged 18 and over the chance to book a COVID-19 booster vaccine by the end of December.

Boosters will also be offered to 16 and 17 year olds following the latest recommendations from the JCVI. Arrangements are being out in place to offer these as soon as possible but national prescribing regulations need to be updated before this can happen. Please do not go to walk-in vaccination services or try to book an appointment until it has been announced that services are ready to offer boosters to this age group.

Vaccination centres will be open throughout the festive break and thousands of extra appointments have been made available so that everyone eligible can get their booster as quickly as possible. Book now using the National Booking Service at www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine or by calling 119.

Walk-in services are also available at some centres, with extra clinics running between Xmas and New Year

For information on local walk-in clinics go to www.calderdaleccg.nhs.uk/grabajab

Please do not contact your GP practice for an appointment or information on the booster rollout. Practices are working together to offer vaccinations and will contact patients when it is their turn or people can choose to book an appointment at a different centre through the National Booking Service.

In line with the advice from the JCVI, people will be given either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines for their booster. This is because the evidence from the clinical trials on different combinations of COVID-19 vaccines showed that this type of vaccine (called an mRNA or ‘messenger’ vaccine gave the best results as a booster, no matter which type of vaccine people had before.

If you are not able to have either of these vaccines due to a severe allergy to any of their ingredients or another medical reason, it may be possible for you to have the AstraZeneca vaccine instead if you had this before but you will need to discuss this with a health professional first.