Unpaid carers invited for vaccination

Unpaid carers are now being invited to receive their first COVID-19 vaccination, providing they:
  • Are eligible for a carer’s allowance
  • Are identified as a primary carer by their GP
  • Are receiving support following a carer’s assessment by their local council or from a local carer’s organisation
  • Are the sole or primary carer who provides close personal care or face to face support for an elderly or disabled person who is clinically vulnerable to COVID-19
Carers will be contacted in phases, starting with those carers already known to health and social care services. All eligible unpaid carers will be contacted by the NHS when it’s their turn to receive the vaccine and will be given information about how they should book their appointment. This will either be at a vaccination site in their local community supported by their GP practice, or at a large vaccination centre.

 

In some cases where caring responsibilities are shared, an additional person can be classed as a primary carer and receive a vaccination.

 

Every possible effort will be made to vaccinate eligible carers at the same time as the people they care for, such as when they accompany them for a vaccination.

 

If you are an unpaid carer and you are unsure if you are eligible, contact your local council or local carers organisation and they will advise you if you are able to receive your COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Vaccines are the way out of this pandemic. By getting vaccinated unpaid carers can help protect themselves from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19, so they can continue to be there for their family, friends, and the people they care for.

 

For more information visit www.nhs.uk/covidvaccine. Government guidance on how unpaid carers in England, who care for a person vulnerable to COVID-19, can get vaccinated can be found here: Coronavirus » COVID-19 standard operating procedure – COVID-19 vaccine deployment programme: unpaid carers (JCVI priority cohort 6) (england.nhs.uk)