When will I be invited?
Most people who are eligible for one or both vaccines will have already been contacted by NHS Scotland by letter, email or text. If you’ve been offered an appointment time, please attend and get protected from serious illness this winter. You can book or rearrange an appointment.
Drop-in clinics are now available in some areas. Check your local health board’s website for details of drop-in clinics in your area.
It’s strongly recommended you get vaccinated against flu and coronavirus (COVID-19) if you’re eligible this winter. This includes frontline healthcare and social care workers, pregnant women and those with eligible health conditions.
Eligibility
Groups eligible for flu and coronavirus vaccination are:
- residents and staff in care homes for older adults
- people aged 65 and over
- people aged 6 months and over with a condition that places them at higher risk
- pregnant women
- frontline healthcare workers (including independent contractors and support staff who are patient facing in GP, dental, optometry and community pharmacy)
- frontline social care workers
- carers (including unpaid and young carers aged 16 and over)
- people aged 12 or over who live with someone with a weakened immune system
Groups eligible for flu vaccination are:
- children aged 6 months to 2 years at higher risk of flu
- children aged 2 to 5 (and not yet in school) on 1 September 2023
- all primary school pupils
- all secondary school pupils
- people aged 18 to 64 with an eligible condition
- people aged 50 and over
- nursery, primary and secondary school teachers and pupil-facing support staff
- prison population, prison officers and support staff who deliver direct front-facing detention services
- non-frontline NHS healthcare workers (including all independent contractors and support staff in GP, dental, optometry and community pharmacy)
Online booking portal
You can log in to book using your unique username and password. This is the same as you had for your previous doses of the coronavirus vaccine.
You can rearrange your appointment if the time or day doesn’t suit you.
Appointment availability
There will be enough winter vaccine appointments for everyone who is eligible. If you’re having difficulty getting an appointment on the booking portal, please wait a few days and try again. There are evening and weekend vaccination clinics available too. If it’s more convenient, you can book or rearrange your appointment to a vaccination clinic closer to where you work or somewhere you visit regularly.
Appointments will be regularly added by all health boards right through to December, ensuring all those eligible are protected from flu and coronavirus viruses before they are most likely to be circulating. The national vaccination helpline will be unable to offer alternative appointments as they use the same online booking system.
If you’re ill on the day
You no longer need to wait for a specific amount of time after confirmed coronavirus infection to have your vaccine. However, if you’re unwell, wait until you’ve recovered to have your vaccine. You should not attend an appointment if you have a fever or think you might be infectious to others.
Help with booking
Even if you have never logged in before, you can find your username on your appointment letter or by using the ‘Get your username’ option.
You can then set up a password by selecting the new user option to register.
If you can’t find a suitable appointment, please keep checking as new ones are added regularly.
The easiest way to book an appointment is online. It takes just a few minutes. Please be aware the helpline only has access to the same appointments on the portal. However, you can phone the national vaccination helpline on 0800 030 8013 to book your appointment.
If you’ve lost or forgotten your username, you can recover it by selecting the ‘Get your username’ option.
If you’ve lost or forgotten your password, you can recover it by selecting the ‘Forgotten your password’ option.
Information about the vaccines
Your appointment
Leaflets, other languages and accessible formats
Other vaccines
Throughout the year, NHS Scotland offers a range of other vaccinations to people at different stages in their life. Find out about these vaccines, and the diseases they protect against, and when they’ll be offered.