16+ vaccinations
Please note from 12 February 2023, only 1st and 2nd doses are available
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 people 16 and 17 should wait 12 weeks after their 1st dose.
When to have your booster
You should have your booster at least 3 months, or 91 days, after your 2nd dose.
Book or drop-in to get your vaccination:
Appointments can be booked online or by calling 119.
Drop-in to a vaccination clinic. No appointment needed.
What if I’m pregnant or breastfeeding?
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have booked your first appointment online or by calling 119, you will normally book your 2nd 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 2nd 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.
Yes, if you book online, you’ll be shown the closest available appointment locations with the same vaccine. However, 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 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.
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.
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 you have a first dose of one vaccine, your second dose will be of that same vaccine too.
In the absence of trial data to show it is safe and effective, doses should not be mixed.
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.)
People aged 18 and over need to wait 4 weeks from their positive result.
Most 16 and 17 year olds need to wait 12 weeks, unless you are at high risk from Covid-19, or live with someone who has a weakened immune system, then you need to wait 4 weeks.