How can I book my second Covid vaccine and can I change the date?
MILLIONS of Brits have already received a second dose of a coronavirus vaccine. Here's all you need to know. Everyone over the age of 18 has now been invited to book their jabs, so you can get your second eight weeks after your first. Do not book it for before then, because otherwise you won't be fully protected. Omni's vaccine queue calculator will estimate how many people are ahead of you in the wait for a jab in the UK. You can also use the calculator that only applies to England, which is more specific. All you need to do is enter your age, job and if you have a health condition. If you already have an appointment booked, but this date no longer suits, you can amend the date or time. On the NHS website you can view your appointments, cancel your appointments and re-book appointments. If you booked your first jab on the NHS National Booking Service you should also book your second jab online. You will need your NHS number and the service calculates when your second shot is due. You can book eight weeks after your first injection - and can easily cancel and rebook if you need to. The system for receiving a second date varies. If you booked your first dose through the NHS website, you should have been able to book your second dose at the same time. But if you were given your appointment through your GP, you probably have not received a date for your second yet. If this applies to you, you will be contacted closer to the 12-week deadline to make an appointment. However some vaccination centres have been giving Brits their second appointment at the time of their first dose. According to Dr Chris Smith, a clinical lecturer in virology at Cambridge University, the optimal interval between doses is not yet known. He said: For the average person, we're probably on reasonably firm ground if the booster date drifts a bit. The immune system has not evolved with a stopwatch in its hand. It doesn't stand tapping its foot and counting down the minutes to 12 weeks before declaring, Dragon's Den style, 'I'm out'. We have evolved to form long-lived immune memories that can be recalled far into the future to protect us from chance re-encounters with things we've met before.