Get a COVID-19 vaccination and booster in Northern Ireland
First, second and booster COVID-19 vaccine doses are available at Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust vaccination hubs and participating community pharmacies across Northern Ireland. For some, mostly those aged 75 and over, a spring booster will be available through your GP or community pharmacy in April and May.
Get a COVID-19 booster vaccination
The video below is a message from Prof Sir Michael McBride, Northern Ireland Chief Medical Officer regarding the COVID-19 booster vaccination:
Who can get a COVID-19 vaccine
Anyone aged five years and over who is a resident of Northern Ireland is eligible to be vaccinated as part of the COVID-19 vaccination programme. You generally have to be registered with a GP in Northern Ireland.
If you live in NI but are not registered with a GP in NI, or are temporarily a resident in NI, you can probably still receive a vaccine but you will need to bring evidence of your address in NI to your vaccination appointment. Should there be an issue with this you can email the Department of Health at the address below and they will advise you:
Dose interval
The required interval between first and second doses is eight weeks, while for the first booster dose it is three months after the second dose, for anyone aged 18 years and over for all three COVID-19 vaccines currently in use in Northern Ireland - Pfizer, Moderna and Astra Zeneca.
Different rules apply for anyone aged five to 17 years of age.
More information on what vaccine you can get, where to get it, and how to book (where required) is available below.
You can find your nearest vaccination clinic by putting in your post code at the following link:
Who can get a COVID-19 booster vaccination
Find out who is eligible for the COVID-19 booster at:
Where to get a vaccination - aged 12 to 17 years
All 12 to 17 year olds are now eligible to receive a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
In most cases, this should be 12 weeks apart, or 12 weeks post infection.
As the school vaccination programme is now complete, 12 to 17 year olds can now receive their vaccinations at any of the Trust vaccination hubs. Details of the clinics available in your area can be viewed via the Trust links below.
All 16 and 17 year olds and children aged 12 to 15 years of age who are in a clinical risk group or who live with an immunosuppressed person can also receive a booster dose three months after their second dose. Booster doses are being administered at Trust vaccination sites.
Further information is available at:
Trust bookings can be made at the link below:
Children aged five to 11 years of age
JCVI recommends that children aged five to 11 years in a clinical risk group, or children who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, should be offered two 10 micrograms doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with an interval of eight weeks between the first and second doses. The 10 micrograms dose is a third of the strength of an adult dose.
Following JCVI advice, all children aged five to 11 years of age, not in a risk group or a household contact of an immunosuppressed person, can receive two 10 micrograms doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, 12 weeks between the first and second doses.
Advice for parents is available at the link below:
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COVID-19 vaccination - a guide for parents of children aged five to 11
- book an appointment at a Trust vaccination clinic
Some walk-in appointments may also be available but you should check the relevant Trust’s vaccination web page first.
Further information on these locations is available on the Trust websites.
- Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
- Northern Health and Social Care Trust
- South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
- Southern Health and Social Care Trust
- Western Health and Social Care Trust
Where to get a vaccination - aged 18 years and over
Trust vaccination hubs and community pharmacies across NI are providing first, second doses or booster doses to everyone aged 18 and over.
If you're housebound, you should contact your GP and they will liaise with a Trust to arrange a visit from a district nurse.
There are two types of primary COVID-19 vaccines offered at community pharmacies: Moderna and Astra Zeneca.
Details on which community pharmacies provide each vaccine are detailed below.
Following updated advice from JCVI, it is preferable that people aged under 40 years of age receive an alternative to the AstraZeneca vaccine for their primary vaccination.
Find out which HSC Trust or Community Pharmacy are offering vaccination by putting in your post code at the following link:
- Community pharmacy vaccination service
- COVID-19 Moderna vaccination pharmacies
- Find a vaccination clinic
If you require an Astrazeneca COVID-19 vaccine, please visit the following link to find out which pharmacies are offering:
or a link to a list of the AZ vaccines can be located by following the following link and scrolling down the page -
http://www.hscboard.hscni.net/cp-covid-19-vaccination-service/
RNIB helpline
If you are blind or partially sighted and need help in accessing the details of your local participating pharmacy, you can contact RNIB, Monday to Friday from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm and Saturday from 9.00 am to 1.00 pm.
This is not a booking line and the operator cannot help organise any vaccination appointments.
- phone: 0303 123 9999
- email: helpline@rnib.org.uk
Calls cost no more than a standard rate call, or count towards any inclusive minutes, to an 01 or 02 number. The price of calls varies between different providers, so check with your provider if you are unsure.
Pregnant or believe to be pregnant
Women who are pregnant are now encouraged to have the first, second or booster jabs as soon as possible to help better protect themselves and their baby from any serious consequences from COVID-19.
Expectant mothers aged under 18 should receive primary vaccination in line with other groups at high risk, which is two doses at an eight-week interval.
If you test positive for COVID-19 you should wait four weeks after the infection before getting a vaccination.
Further advice is available at:
For advice about getting the COVID-19 vaccination, you can speak to your obstetric provider or midwife.
Pregnant women can receive their vaccination at their local community pharmacy, or Health and Social Care Trusts are running special antenatal vaccination clinics - check with your Trust for details.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced detailed questions and answers on COVID-19 vaccines, pregnancy and breastfeeding at this link:
In relation to fertility, there is absolutely no evidence that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.
More information is available on the British Fertility Society website.
COVID-19 first booster vaccination
Health Trust vaccination hubs are still open for walk-in boosters for anyone aged 16 and over who is at least three months from their second vaccine dose.
A spring (second) booster will be available for some people, mostly those aged 75 years and over, through your GP or community pharmacy in April and May. Further details are available below under spring booster vaccination.
Children aged 12 to 15 years of age, who are in a clinical risk group or those who live with an immunosuppressed person can now also receive a booster dose three months after their second dose.
You can book a vaccination appointment slot at these hubs:
The booster programme involves the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. Anyone aged under 18 years of age will only receive the Pfizer vaccine.
Your booster dose does not have to be same vaccine as your first and second doses.
If you are one of a small number of people who cannot receive a mRNA vaccine as a booster and require an AstraZeneca vaccine see details above on how you can access a community pharmacy administering the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The latest details of vaccination hub locations and opening times are available on the Health Trust websites at the links below.
Mobile clinics are also being arranged. You may also wish to check neighbouring Trust websites in case there are convenient clinics outside your Trust area:
- Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
- Northern Health and Social Care Trust
- South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
- Southern Health and Social Care Trust
- Western Health and Social Care Trust
There are details of community pharmacies providing boosters at this link:
You can find your nearest vaccination clinic by putting in your post code at the following link:
Third and booster doses for those severely immunosuppressed
JCVI advises that a third primary dose should be offered to a small number of individuals aged five years and over with severe immunosuppression.
These individuals have been identified by their Trust clinician or GP and invited to receive a third primary dose.
This third primary dose should then be followed with a booster dose (fourth dose), for those aged 12 years and over, from three months after the third primary dose is administered.
In line with the latest JCVI advice, a spring booster (fifth dose) should be offered to immunosuppressed aged 12 years and over, three months after they receive their first booster (fourth dose).
Anyone who falls into this category can now proceed to book their booster (fourth) dose online at the link below:
Vaccine safety
The vaccines have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). More information is available at:
COVID-19 Spring booster vaccination
A spring COVID-19 booster vaccination will be offered to those aged 75 and over, as well as anyone over the age of 12 who is immunosuppressed.
Most people in this group will have received their most recent vaccine dose in September or October 2021 and with the lapse of time, their immunity derived from vaccination may wane substantially before the autumn of 2022.
JCVI have advised that there should be some operational flexibility around the timing of the spring dose in relation to when the person received their last vaccine dose.
Therefore, to try and limit vaccine wastage, ideally you should have reached the six month mark from your first booster, but you may receive it if you had your first booster over three months ago.
The programme officially start at the end of March.
The majority of vaccinations will be given by GPs and community pharmacies.
Community pharmacies will vaccinate care home residents and anyone aged 75 and over on request, as long as it is at least three months from their last COVID dose.
GPs will invite all their patients aged 75 and over, as they become eligible.
Trust mobile clinics can vaccinate eligible individuals who opt to attend one of the clinics.
Trusts will also vaccinate any eligible housebound patients. If you are housebound and do not receive any contact from your district nurse, you should contact your GP and they will liaise with the relevant Trust.
Follow the public health advice after being vaccinated
Two primary doses of the current approved vaccines, as well as booster doses, have shown a high level of protection against serious illness from COVID-19, but no vaccine gives 100 per cent protection.
Research is ongoing to see what impact the COVID-19 vaccines have on reducing the spread of the disease and to examine the extent to which vaccinated people can still pass the infection on to others.
Therefore, after vaccination, you should follow the public health advice and are asked to:
- practise social distancing
- wear a face covering
- wash your hands carefully and often
Proof of vaccination
Information on when you need and how to proof of vaccination is available at:
For the latest travel advice go to:
Further information about the vaccine
The Public Health Agency has developed a range of leaflets and a frequently asked questions section: