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Covid -19 Vaccination Service

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1 Covid-19 Vaccine Primary Course & Booster Dose

For those who are eligible for Primary Course,1st booster is 12 years & over, a booster dose if pregnant (if is 1st booster at any stage of pregnancy and if is 2nd ideally at 20-34 weeks) and those who are due there Spring booster dose.

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COVID-19 Vaccination Programme

COVID-19 vaccination is safe and effective. It gives you the best protection against serious COVID-19 illness.

Recommended COVID-19 vaccination depends on your age and if you're at higher risk from COVID-19.

This can include getting:

Primary Course

The first round of vaccination is for people who haven’t had a COVID-19 vaccine yet. To get your first round of COVID-19 vaccination, you must be age 6 months or older.

A primacy course is in pharmacy:

  • for people 12 years and older
  • you must wait at least 4 weeks since you tested positive for COVID-19 or developed symptoms or 4 weeks from your first positive PCR/Antigen test if you did not have symptoms if 30 years and over and for those aged 5 to 29 at least 8 weeks

Dose intervals between your first and second dose depend on your age for anyone 30 years and older it is 4 weeks and for those 5 to 29 it is 8 weeks. 

People under 16 must attend their booster appointment with a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian will need to give consent for their child’s vaccination.

Booster Dose of the COVID-19 Vaccine

The protection from previous doses or a COVID-19 infection may weaken over time. Booster doses help boost your antibodies and give you good protection from becoming seriously ill or needing to go to the hospital if you get COVID-19.

A first booster is recommended for all adults aged 18 years and older.

After this, seasonal boosters are recommended for some people at higher risk of COVID-19 illness.

Spring booster dose

Spring booster doses will be offered from 22nd April 2024

You will be offered a spring booster dose if you are:

  • aged 80 years or older
  • aged 5 years or older with a weak immune system
  • living in a long-term care facility

If you are aged 70 to 79 years, you can request a vaccine. Talk to your pharmacist about your reasons for wanting a booster.

Who can get a booster dose now?

You may be due a booster now if you are pregnant or if you have not had a first booster yet.

First booster

You may have had your first round of COVID-19 vaccination and not had a booster yet.

A first booster is:

  • recommended for people aged 18 and older
  • available to people aged 12 and older

How long to wait

Wait 4 months after your last COVID-19 vaccine or COVID-19 infection.

For some people who need protection sooner, you can get your first booster 3 months after your last COVID-19 vaccine or infection.

  • recommended for everyone age 18 and older
  • recommended for people aged 5 to 11 with a weak immune system (not available in pharmacy)
  • available to everyone age 12 and older

Please note that groups are subject to regular change by the HSE - check the HSE website here for the latest eligibility information. COVID-19 Vaccines are only available from pharmacies for anyone aged 12 years and over.

Which vaccine you will be offered?

You will be offered an adapted Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. This is an mRNA vaccine.

Adapted vaccines work in the same way as the original Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. But they are expected to give even more protection against COVID-19 variants, including Omicron variants.

Please read the relevant information about the COVID-19 vaccine before the appointment. Information will also be available at the pharmacy on arrival. You can find relevant information here.

*Subject to eligibility criteria, trained pharmacist and vaccine availability. Selected StayWell Pharmacies only.

How to Book an Appointment:

COVID-19 vaccine stock can be limited. If StayWell Pharmacies have availability, they will open for waitlist registrations or appointment bookings online or in store. If you are unable to book an appointment online or register for the waitlist with your local StayWell Pharmacy, it is because they currently have no availability.

You can book an appointment or register on the waitlist for vaccines online for selected StayWell Pharmacies* by clicking on the “Book” button, or alternatively, you book an appointment in store or by calling the pharmacy.

Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine and your Appointment 

Please do not attend your appointment if you:

  • Have any current symptoms of COVID-19
  • Have been told you are a close contact of someone with COVID-19
  • Have been told you should isolate

Appointment Times

  • You should allow at least15- 20 minutes for your vaccination appointment. After getting the vaccine, you may be under observation for 15 minutes
  • If you need to cancel or reschedule your appointment, please contact the pharmacy as soon as you can
  • Adults should arrive for their vaccination unaccompanied where possible. Children aged 12- 15 will need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or an adult who is eligible to give legal consent. Who can give consent for vaccination of a young person aged under 16 years?

More information

  • For more information, read the manufacturer’s Patient Information Leaflet. This will be printed for you on the day you get your vaccine, or you can find it on hse.ie/covid19vaccinePIL
  • You can visit the HSE website at hse.ie/covid19vaccine
  • For more information on the COVID-19 vaccine, including materials in other formats and translation support, visit: hse.ie/covid19vaccinematerials
COVID-19 is an illness that can affect your lungs and airways, and sometimes other parts of your body. It is caused by a virus called coronavirus. COVID-19 is highly infectious. It spreads through the air through droplets produced when people cough or sneeze, or when they touch surfaces where the droplets have landed and then touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. COVID-19 can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and even death. Common symptoms of COVID-19 include: a fever (high temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above) a new cough – this can be any kind of cough, not just dry shortness of breath or breathing difficulties loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you have noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or they smell or taste differently You may not have all these symptoms, or you may just feel generally less well than usual. It can take up to 14 days for symptoms to show. They can be similar to symptoms of cold or flu. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolate (stay in your room) and phone a GP (Doctor). They can arrange a COVID-19 test for you. For more information on COVID-19, please visit www.hse.ie/coronavirus or call HSELive on 1850 24 1850
Vaccines teach your immune system how to protect you from diseases. It is much safer for your immune system to learn this through vaccination than by catching the diseases and attempting to treat them. Vaccines can reduce or even eradicate some diseases if enough people are vaccinated. The long-term response to the pandemic requires a safe and effective vaccine to be available for all who need it. It is a way to keep you, your friends and family safe, potentially leading to lifting of restrictions.
The Government will let you know when it is your turn and how to get your vaccine through advertising or direct invitation. You will need to read this leaflet and the manufacturer’s Patient Information Leaflet before you get the vaccine. You can find the COVID-19 Vaccine manufacturer’s Patient Information Leaflet on: www.hse.ie/covid19vaccinePIL You can also talk to a healthcare professional in advance. If you decide to get the vaccine, you will give your consent, which will be recorded. The HSE is offering the vaccine free of charge
No. The COVID-19 vaccine cannot give you COVID-19. It is possible to have caught COVID-19 before getting your vaccine and not realise you have the symptoms until after your vaccination appointment. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, it is important to self-isolate (stay in your room) and arrange a free test to find out if you have COVID-19. If you have a fever which starts more than two days after you get the vaccine, or lasts longer than two days, you should self-isolate and ask a GP (Doctor) to arrange a COVID-19 test for you. If you have COVID-19 symptoms after the first dose, you still need to have the second dose. While you may get some protection from the first dose, having the second dose will give you the best protection against the virus
Yes. Even if you have already had COVID-19, you could still get it again. The vaccine will reduce your risk of getting COVID-19 again. Even if you do get COVID-19 again, the vaccine can reduce the seriousness of your symptoms
No. You should delay getting the vaccine if you have a fever (temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above), until you feel better
You can get the COVID-19 vaccine if you are breastfeeding. Talk to your obstetrician, midwife or GP about getting your COVID-19 vaccine if you are pregnant.It's recommended you get your COVID-19 vaccine when it's offered to you. Being vaccinated will reduce the chance of you becoming very unwell. It may also reduce the chance of complications during pregnancy. If you are seriously ill with COVID-19 during pregnancy, complications can include premature labour or stillbirths linked to COVID placentitis. Pregnancy Pregnant women are at similar risk of COVID-19 infection to non-pregnant women of the same age. However, if pregnant women become infected with SARS-COV2 they are at increased risk of hospitalisation, at increased risk of premature delivery if symptomatic in the third trimester and of stillbirth and at significantly higher risk of ICU admission. There is now a growing body of evidence on the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination –– clearly indicating that that the benefits of vaccination outweigh any known or potential risks of COVID- 19 vaccination during pregnancy. Vaccination is the best way to protect both mother and baby from serious harm and mRNA vaccines should be available to pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy. Because there is more data available about mRNA vaccines in pregnancy, these vaccines are recommended for pregnant women; all information shows pregnancy complication rates similar to what would normally be expected. No unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed related to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. Long term follow up of vaccine recipients is on- going. Please note that women aged less than 30 years should receive Comirnaty®, rather than Spikevax ®as a second, booster or additional dose. There is no evidence that any COVID-19 vaccine affects fertility or the fetus. No unexpected pregnancy or infant outcomes have been observed related to COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.
As with all vaccines, you can report suspected side effects to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA). The HPRA is the regulatory authority in the Republic of Ireland for medicines, medical devices, and other health products. As part of its role in the safety monitoring of medicines, the HPRA operates a system through which healthcare professionals or members of the public can report any suspected adverse reactions (side effects) associated with medicines and vaccines which have occurred in Ireland. The HPRA strongly encourages reporting of suspected adverse reactions (side effects) associated with Covid-19 vaccines to support continuous monitoring of their safe and effective use. To report a suspected adverse reaction to the Covid-19 vaccine, please visit www.hpra.ie/report. You can also ask your doctor, or a family member to report this for you. As much information as is known should be provided, and where possible, the vaccine batch number should be included. The HPRA cannot provide clinical advice on individual cases. Members of the public should contact their healthcare professional (their doctor or Pharmacist) with any medical concerns they may have.
No. The COVID-19 vaccines being used produce a protective immune, antibody, response which can be measured by serology blood tests. They do not affect a PCR swab test, which is the basis of diagnosing COVID-19 infection by detecting viral RNA in the nose and throat. They also do not affect the results of Lateral Flow Device (LFD) tests. PCR tests will be used as part of the vaccine effectiveness assessment in those who are vaccinated and subsequently develop symptoms of COVID-19
Gluten is a family of proteins found in certain cereal grains. The COVID-19 vaccines currently available do not contain gluten.
We do not know yet if having the vaccine stops you spreading the COVID-19 virus to others. That is why it is important that we all continue to follow public health advice on how to stop the spread of the virus. You still need to: • follow social distancing guidelines (keep two metres apart from others where possible) • wear a face covering • wash your hands regularly
When a high proportion of a population receive an effective vaccine, it becomes difficult for the disease to spread, this gives protection to vulnerable people such as newborn babies and other people who cannot be vaccinated, which is known as herd immunity. It is not clear what proportion of people would be required to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to achieve this because the vaccines against the disease are new and COVID-19 is a global pandemic infection. Therefore, the best protection you can have is to have the vaccination when you are invited to attend and to continue to follow measures to reduce spread like social distancing, hand and respiratory hygiene and face coverings where advised.