This week, Boris Johnson announced a four-week extension to stage three of easing lockdown in order to allow time for more people to be vaccinated. It’s thought at least nine million more people will receive their first or second dose of the vaccine within that time-frame, but many are eager to help speed up the process by moving the date of their second vaccine up.
In fact, the prime minister himself stated that vaccinations for over-40s will be accelerated to bring down the now common 12-week wait between jabs. Right now, ‘How do I bring my second vaccine forward?’, ‘Over 40s second vaccine’ and ‘How do I bring my second jab forward?’ are all breakout search terms on Google Trends.
According to reports, millions scrambled to book a second vaccine quicker this week after the government cut the time gap between doses from 12-weeks to eight. NHS Digital has since appealed to users not to rebook their appointments unless invited to.
With that in mind, if you’re invited to rebook, here’s exactly how you can go about getting that second jab faster.
How do I bring my second vaccine forward?
It’s as simple as cancelling your second appointment and rebooking using the NHS website, according to most. Before NHS Digital put out their statement, many shared their experiences online stating that they were initially offered second dose appointments 11 weeks after their first dose but after cancelling and trying again this week, they managed to move the appointment up by two weeks – and find options closer to home.
‘If you’ve recently had the Moderna jab, worth cancelling and rebooking your 2nd dose,’ one user, who said he was 29 years old, posted on Twitter. ‘I just did and am now getting my 2nd dose 15 days earlier than originally planned.’
Others who had received the Pfizer jab also confirmed doing this. It didn’t seem to matter what age bracket you’re in, with people as young as 25 able to book a second dose earlier, despite the government only stating jabs for over-40s would be accelerated.
It’s worth noting then that only if you are over 40 will you be invited to move your second jab forward, with an NHS spokesperson stating ‘On advice of the JCVI, the NHS is contacting people aged 40 and over to bring forward their second vaccination. No one needs to contact the NHS – you only have to rebook your second dose if you’re invited to do so.’
So, while it might be tempting to rebook your second vaccine earlier, it’s worth waiting until the NHS confirm your age group is eligible to so as to avoid overwhelming the system and potentially booking in the place of someone older who may be more likely to suffer serious side-effects of covid-19 should they contract it before being fully-vaccinated.
Visit the NHS website for more information on booking your vaccine.
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