Get a COVID-19 vaccination in Northern Ireland
The COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine are available for eligible people in Northern Ireland.
Autumn booster programme
The start date of this year’s autumn flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes was brought forward, as a precautionary measure, following the identification of a new COVID-19 variant.
The vaccination programme, which helps protect Northern Ireland against deadly viruses ahead of winter, will continue into the winter.
You will be offered the COVID-19 booster vaccine if you are:
- a resident or staff member in a care home
- aged 65 years and over
- aged six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group
- a frontline health and social care worker
- aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- a carer, aged 16 to 64 years
- pregnant
If you are eligible for vaccination against COVID-19 or flu this autumn and winter, you should make yourself aware of your own GP surgery’s or community pharmacist’s vaccination arrangements and work with them to get vaccinated.
You may be eligible for both the flu and the COVID-19 Autumn booster vaccines.
If you're offered both vaccines, it's safe to have them at the same time.
More information about the flu vaccine and who can get it is available at:
Where to get your COVID-19 vaccine
GP surgery
You can get the COVID-19 vaccine from your GP surgery if you are:
- aged 65 years and over
- aged 16 to 64 and in a clinical risk group
- aged 16 to 64 and a carer
- aged 16 to 64 and a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed
- pregnant
Community pharmacy
You can get the COVID-19 vaccine from a community pharmacy if you are:
- a care home resident or staff
- a frontline HSC worker
- aged 65 years and over
- aged 18 to 64 and in a clinical risk group
- aged 18 to 64 and a carer
- aged 18 to 64 and a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed
- pregnant
To find out which community pharmacies near you are offering vaccinations, put in your postcode at the link below:
HSC Trusts
HSC Trusts are offering the COVID-19 vaccines to:
- frontline HSC workers
- those aged six months to 15 years of age in a clinical risk group
- those aged 12 to 15 years of age who are carers
- those aged 12 to 15 years of age who are household contacts of immune suppressed
- pregnant women through maternity services
Infant programme
The COVID-19 vaccine is now being offered to children aged six months to four years at higher risk of coronavirus, in line with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advice.
Children at serious risk from the complications of coronavirus infection include:
- those with severe neurodisabilities
- those whose immune systems don’t work as well (immunosuppression)
- those with profound and multiple or severe learning disabilities (including Down’s syndrome) and those on the learning disability register
- those with long term serious conditions affecting their health
Some parents may receive a letter or a phone call to invite their child to an HSC Trust clinic for vaccination.
If you receive an invitation letter, it will explain how to make the appointment for your child.
Vaccinations are being offered at HSC Trust vaccine clinics throughout Northern Ireland.
The leaflet to support parents of children at serious risk from the complications of coronavirus infection is available at:
Young people aged five to 17 years old
Some young people are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they are:
- aged five to 17 years old and in a clinical risk group
- aged 12 to 17 year olds and are carers
- aged 12 to 17 year olds and live with an immunosuppressed person
Further information is available at:
- COVID-19 vaccination - a guide for children and young people
- What to expect after your COVID-19 vaccination - advice for children and young people
Pregnant or believe to be pregnant
If you are pregnant, you are encouraged to have your booster jabs as soon as possible to help better protect yourself and your baby from any serious consequences from COVID-19.
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 GP, local community pharmacy or Health and Social Care Trust.
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has produced detailed questions and answers on COVID-19 vaccines, pregnancy and breastfeeding at this link:
There is absolutely no evidence that any of the vaccines can affect the fertility of women or men.
First doses of COVID-19 vaccine
If you have never received a COVID-19 vaccine, you can receive a vaccine during the autumn booster programme,if you fall into one of the eligible groups listed above.
Exceptional circumstances
If you require the COVID-19 vaccine for specific medical or travel purposes you should contact your local Health and Social Care Trust directly for further information.
- 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
Further information about the vaccine
The Public Health Agency has developed a range of leaflets and a frequently asked questions section:
Types of vaccine
There are many different types of coronavirus vaccines.
The vaccines that will be administered during the Autumn 2023 programme include:
- COVID-19 Pfizer BioNTech bivalent vaccine (Comirnaty® Original/Omicron BA.4-5)
- COVID-19 Pfizer BioNTech monovalent vaccine (Comirnaty® XBB 1.5
- COVID-19 Sanofi Pasteur vaccine (VidPrevtyn Beta®)
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:
Proof of vaccination
If you need proof of vaccination, information is available at:
For the latest travel advice go to:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine research registry
The NHS COVID-19 vaccine registry allows members of the public to register their interest and be contacted to take in clinical studies.
If you are 18 years old or over and live in the UK, you can sign up to give permission for researchers to contact you about taking part in COVID-19 vaccine studies.
You are not signing up to take part in a specific health study when you use this service. You are letting researchers know you're happy for them to contact you if they think you might be suitable to take part in their studies.
More information about taking part in research and other opportunities to take part in COVID-19 research can be found at: