Getting your COVID-19 vaccine

If you are aged 65 to 69 you can now register to get a COVID-19 vaccine

COVID-19 (coronavirus) is a highly infectious disease that can cause serious illness, hospitalisation and even death.

COVID-19 vaccines offer protection from COVID-19. If you do get COVID-19 after vaccination, you should be protected from the serious illness the virus can sometimes cause.

You don’t have to get a COVID-19 vaccine by law. But we strongly recommend that you get your vaccine when it’s offered to you.

There’s no charge for getting your COVID-19 vaccine. It’s free. You cannot get it privately.

People being vaccinated now

People who are most at risk from COVID-19 are being vaccinated first. Vaccination will be offered to the next groups as soon as possible.

Read about the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines in Ireland

You do not need to contact us to get your COVID-19 vaccine. We will let you know when you can register for your vaccine through your healthcare team, news or public advertising.

Vaccine registration for 65 to 69 year olds

We’re asking people to register on specific days. This will help us manage demand on the system, and make it easier for everyone to register.

We will be assigning appointments by age so it doesn’t matter how quickly you register. You won’t get your vaccine any sooner if you register earlier.

If you are aged:

69 – register on Thursday 15 April, or anytime after
68 – register on Friday 16 April, or anytime after
67 – register on Saturday 17 April, or anytime after
66 – register on Sunday 18 April, or anytime after
65 – register on Monday 19 April, or anytime after

Everyone in this group will get the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

If you cannot register online

If you cannot register online, you can call the COVID-19 helpline to register by phone.

Have your registration details prepared before you call so you are ready to register when your call is answered.

AstraZeneca appointments

Some AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccination appointments planned for this week (13 April) are cancelled.

Read about what to do if you have an AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine appointment

When you should not get your COVID-19 vaccine

Do not get your COVID-19 vaccine if you:

have had a severe allergic reaction to a previous dose of the vaccine
currently have COVID-19 – wait until it has been 4 weeks since you first tested positive
have symptoms of COVID-19 – self-isolate (stay in your room) and phone your GP to get tested
have a fever (temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or above) – wait until you feel better
are restricting your movements – wait until you have completed your period of restricted movements to get your vaccine

Talk to your GP before getting your COVID-19 vaccine if you have had an immediate allergic reaction to:

any other vaccine
injectable therapy – this means any medicine by injection for example, insulin or an IV (intravenous) drip
any of the ingredients in the vaccine, including polyethylene glycol (found in the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines) or polysorbate 80 (found in the AstraZeneca vaccine)

The vaccinator will ask you about any allergies you may have.

Your COVID-19 vaccine appointments

You may be vaccinated at a GP surgery or a vaccination centre.

Read about going to a COVID-19 vaccination centre and what to expect when getting your vaccine

Which COVID-19 vaccine you will get

You do not get to choose which vaccine you get. The type of vaccine offered to you will be based on supply.

All the vaccines we use are safe and will protect you from serious illness or death from COVID-19. The best vaccine to get is the one you are offered.

When you are fully vaccinated

Even after you are vaccinated, continue to follow public health advice on how to stop the spread of COVID-19. For example, social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing your hands properly and often.

When you are fully vaccinated, you can meet people from 1 other household indoors without wearing face coverings or staying 2 metres apart.

Wait until you have the best protection 2 weeks after the second dose before meeting other fully vaccinated people indoors.

If you have already had COVID-19

If you have already had COVID-19, you still need to get vaccinated. This is because you could become infected with the virus again.

There’s a small chance you might still get COVID-19 even if you have been vaccinated. But you’ll be protected from the serious illness the virus can sometimes cause.

Close contacts of COVID-19

If you work or live in a nursing home or long-term care facility, the vaccination team will let you know if you can get a COVID-19 vaccine.

For everyone else, you should wait until you have completed your period of restricted movements to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

After COVID-19 vaccination, you can still become a close contact. There is no change in advice for what close contacts of COVID-19 need to do, even if they have been vaccinated.

If you are cocooning

Talk to your GP if you cannot leave home for medical reasons. They can refer you for home vaccination.

If you are cocooning and get your COVID-19 vaccine there is no change in advice. For example, you are still advised to stay at home as much as possible and work from home. If you are not able to work from home, talk to your employer.

If you take immunosuppressive medicines

You should still get your COVID-19 vaccine if you take immunosuppressant medicines.

Examples of immunosuppressants are:

steroids
biologic agents
methotrexate
azathioprine

If you take rituximab, speak to your consultant before getting the vaccine. They will tell you the best time, between doses of rituximab, to get the vaccine.

If you have a weakened immune system, your COVID-19 vaccine may not work as well for you. But there is no extra risk in getting it.

You will need to give your consent before you get your COVID-19 vaccine.

Your vaccinator will be happy to answer any questions you have at your appointment.

Personal information

Your personal information will be processed in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It will only be processed for the specific purpose of managing your vaccination.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing

If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can text HSELive on 086 1800 661 to register for your vaccination.

Irish Sign Language users only

If you are a deaf Irish Sign Language user and you need an interpreter to talk to a HSE COVID-19 helpline agent, you can use the Irish Remote Interpreting Service (IRIS).

This content was fact checked by vaccine experts working in Ireland

Getting your COVID-19 vaccine