Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of creating a self-referral pathway for severely immunosuppressed people who are eligible for a third primary covid-19 vaccine dose.

Severely immunosuppressed individuals are able to self-refer for a third primary dose following receipt of a letter from their general practitioner (GP) or hospital consultant confirming their eligibility. This letter will include the recommended timing for this dose.

Individuals aged 18 years old or over in receipt of this letter can book their appointment via the online National Booking System, via 119 or attend a walk-in vaccination site without an appointment. Children and young people aged 12 to 17 years old can also self-refer at a walk-in site offering vaccination to this age group, if it has been eight weeks since their second dose and with a letter from their GP or hospital consultant confirming their eligibility.