Who is eligible for the Autumn Covid booster in 2025?

Covid-19 can still make some people seriously ill. From November 2024 to January 2025, around 13,000 people were admitted to hospital with the virus.

The NHS offers a free vaccine for those at risk of becoming very ill from Covid-19.

This vaccine is known as the Autumn booster. It is available to fewer groups of people than in 2024.

UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) claims that people who had the vaccine last autumn were 43% less likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19, from two weeks after the vaccination. This is compared to people who were not vaccinated.

Who can get a Covid booster in 2025?

During autumn 2025 the Covid booster is available to:

• Adults aged 75 years and over
• Residents in care homes for older adults
• People who are immunosuppressed aged 6 months and over

The eligibility criteria is the same across the four UK nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

If you are eligible, you can take up the offer of a free vaccine, regardless whether you have been vaccinated in the past.

You can check to see if you fulfil the eligibility criteria for being immunosuppressed for the Covid booster on the NHS site.

When is the Covid booster vaccine available?

If you are eligible for the autumn vaccine, you should have received your invite from your GP to book your appointment. You should also be able to book on the NHS app.

People with the highest risk of getting Covid will be offered the vaccine first.

If you think you are eligible but haven’t yet received your invitation, please wait to be contacted. Alternatively, you could contact your GP, but please only do this if you think you should have been contacted already.

You should be offered an appointment between October and December, with those at highest risk being called in first.

Which vaccine will you be given?

If you are eligible, the autumn booster dose you will receive will be a vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna. These vaccines have been updated and give slightly higher levels of antibody against some strains of Omicron.

All versions of the Covid vaccine offer protection against the virus and if you are eligible it’s advised you have the injection to help stop you becoming seriously ill as a result of contracting the virus. 

What are the side effects?

Common side effects for Covid vaccines are:

• Heavy pain and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Aches or mild flu-like symptoms

Paracetamol can help with these side effects.

Symptoms after having the vaccination should not last longer than a week. If your symptoms worsen or you are worried, you can call NHS 111.

Can I get the Covid booster and the flu vaccine at the same time?

If you are eligible for a flu jab, you may be able to have both the flu jab and the Covid booster jab at the same time.

If you prefer you can have the jabs separately at different times.