PEOPLE AGED 60 and over and pregnant women can book an appointment for their next Covid-19 booster vaccine from today.

In a statement, the HSE said those aged 50-64 and people with long-term health conditions will be offered booster vaccines over the coming weeks.

Parents will also be invited to book an appointment for children aged 5-12 who are immunocompromised and due to have a second booster.

Appointments for those aged 60 and over and pregnant women will be available from Monday 15 August but booking for those appointments begins today. 

Appointments will be available for those aged 55 and over from 22 August, and 29 August for those aged 50 and over.

People aged 12 and over who have underlying medical conditions or are residents of long-term care facilities will be able to book an appointment for 1 September, with people aged 65 and over and healthcare workers able to receive their next dose in October with the flu vaccine.

HSE Chief Clinical Officer Dr Colm Henry said: “This week we are putting the most recent vaccine advice into action and inviting new groups of people for their next booster.

“I encourage everyone aged 60 and over and pregnant women, to get their next booster dose. It will give you ongoing protection from serious illness, and increase your immunity against infection from COVID-19, which we know tends to reduce after a period of months following your last vaccine,” he said.

Eileen Whelan, national lead of the Covid-19 Vaccine Programme, said: “We are inviting people initially in blocks of 5 years, starting with people aged 60-64, to ensure people have a smooth experience booking appointments online and getting their vaccine.”

The HSE said it will be active over the next few weeks in encouraging people to come forward for these and all other relevant Covid vaccines.

“We want people to be aware of the protection vaccines offer and to get their best protection from Covid-19″, Whelan said.

“We are also continuing to plan for the autumn, when more groups of people have been recommended to have Covid-19 boosters as well as routine flu vaccines to provide best health protection for the winter ahead.”

Appointments can be booked on the HSE’s online vaccine portal, while participating GPs and pharmacies will also be giving booster doses in the coming weeks.

It is recommended that you get your second booster at least four months after your first. The date of your last booster can be found on your digital Covid certificate.

If you have had Covid, you should get a second booster dose at least four months after your positive test result or when your symptoms started. 

When attending your appointment, you need to bring photo ID with you, which can be a passport, driver’s licence, garda age card, student/school ID etc. If your ID doesn’t include proof of your date of birth, you will need to bring something that does, such as your birth certificate.

People aged 30 and over will be offered a single dose of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna). These are effective even if your first doses was with a different type of vaccine, such as AstraZeneca or Janssen.

People aged 16 to 29 years will be offered a single dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. This vaccine is ok to receive even if you got a different vaccine for your primary course.

The HSE is strongly advising people who have not yet received a primary Covid vaccine dose to consider attending one of the walk-in clinics for dose one or dose two of the vaccine, or to register for an appointment online.

Information is available on HSE.ie and HSE Live is available to support with booking if required on Freephone 1800 700 700.