We’ve heard a few examples of people turning up for their Spring booster only to hear that they weren’t eligible at this time. The confusion seemed to be around the definition of ‘immunosuppressed‘.
We don’t want anyone wasting a journey, so here’s the explanation.
The Joint Committee of Vaccinations and Immunisations (JCVI) has advised that people who are higher risk of severe illness, resulting from coronavirus, should be offered a spring booster. They include:
- those aged 75 and over
- residents in older adult care homes
- anyone aged 12 and over who is severely weakened immune system
They mean by that people with underlying health conditions such as chronic leukaemia or lymphoma and those who have had immunosuppressive treatment following an organ transplant, or have had radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
And they are identifying these groups because they are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 and their immunity is likely to wane before the autumn.
If you are in these groups and have not yet had your spring booster, you can book an appointment via the national booking system or by calling 119, or by attending a walk-in vaccination centre.
People are advised to wait 6 months since their previous dose to get maximum protection from a spring booster; or (if under 16 years old) to wait 12 weeks since testing positive or symptoms developing; or (for over 16s) to wait 28 days since testing positive or developing symptoms