Will everyone get a Covid booster jab? Who is eligible for vaccine, how to book and walk in centres near me

People across the UK are now being offered a Covid-19 booster vaccination with those in England also now able to receive their booster jab at a walk-in centre.

But will everyone get a Covid booster jab?

Here’s what you need to know.

Will everyone get a Covid booster jab?

At the moment, only those eligible can receive a Covid booster, with people able to attend walk-in vaccination sites without an appointment as the NHS aims to ramp up uptake ahead of a “challenging” winter.

It has not yet been said if or when those outside these eligibility groups will be able to receive a Covid booster.

The Covid-19 vaccine booster programme has been extended to include healthy 40 to 49-year-olds, health officials have said.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said all adults over the age of 40 should be offered a booster six months after their second dose.

From Monday (1 November), anyone eligible who had their second dose of a coronavirus vaccine at least six months ago can turn up at one of hundreds of jabs sites across England to get their top-up.

People are advised to use the NHS online walk-in finder to check where their nearest centre is.

These are the groups currently able to get a Covid booster jab:

• those aged 50 and over
• people who live and work in care homes
• frontline health and social care workers;
• people aged 16 and over with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19
• those aged 16 and over who are a main carer for someone at high risk from the virus
• people aged 16 and over who live with someone who is more likely to get infections

Those aged over-40 will now also be eligible to receive their Covid booster, as long as it has been six months since their second jab.

Where are the Covid booster walk-in vaccination sites?

NHS England said almost every person registered with a GP practice lives within 10 miles of a fixed vaccination site.

The walk-in finder website will show who can get jabs at different sites and whether it is offering boosters, vaccines for 12-15 year-olds, or anyone aged 16 and over.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy lead for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme said: “NHS staff are making it as easy as possible for people to get their top-up vaccination, and from today people can now go online, find their nearest site and go and get their booster without delay.

“The booster is not just nice to have, it is really important protection ahead of what we know will be a challenging winter.

“So if you are eligible, please do check the site finder and go get your jab”.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also urged those eligible to get boosters when he was asked about possible Covid restrictions during his trip to the G20 summit in Rome on Sunday (31 October).

He told reporters: “I think rather than thinking new restrictions, the best thing everybody can do is get that booster jab as soon as you’re offered it.

“It’s a very important message. I think people don’t quite realise that the first two jabs do start to wane.

“How sad, how tragic it would be if people who had other complications, other compromises in their health, got seriously ill because they were overconfident about their level of immunity and didn’t get their booster when they needed it.

“So please, please, please can everybody get their boosters”.