HSE starts calling people in their 60s for Covid-19 booster jabs by text message

About 475,000 people in their 60s will start receiving text messages from the HSE on Friday calling them to vaccination centres for Covid-19 vaccine booster doses.

The HSE said that anyone aged 60 years and over will be contacted to arrange an appointment for their third dose, a single booster jab of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, over the coming weeks.

People can only receive the dose if they have an appointment and cannot get the booster at a walk-in clinic. The HSE has said that they can rearrange the appointment by text if the timing does suit.

HSE’s lead on vaccinations Damien McCallion said this week that the booster doses for those aged 60 and over are expected to be substantially completed by the end of the year.

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Vaccine boosters are being rolled out to people in their 60s and 70s after initially being offered to people in their 80s, people aged 65 and over in long-term residential care facilities, and individuals with underlying health conditions whose immune systems are compromised.

Last week the National Immunisation Advisory Committee agreed to extend the vaccine boosters to about 300,000 healthcare workers.

In all, about 1.4 million booster doses are being given.

The third doses are aimed at boosting the immunity of the most vulnerable people in the population against severe disease as waning vaccine immunity has left them less protected.

The HSE has said that it is safe to get a booster dose of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine even if they have received a primary vaccine of AstraZeneca, Janssen or Moderna.

It is recommending the booster dose at least six months after the primary vaccination course. The HSE has said that it is safe to receive Covid-19 vaccine at the same time as the flu vaccine.

GPs are continuing to administer booster doses at appointments for people aged 70 and over.