From Monday 14th March 2022, if you have have had one booster dose following primary vaccination with J&J, then you are eligible to receive a second booster (of either J&J or Pfizer), 90 days after the first booster.
If your primary vaccination schedule was Pfizer vaccine, then one booster of either Pfizer or J&J is currently available.
Schedule from 14th March:
| Primary schedule | Booster doses | |||
| One dose | Minimum 60 day interval | First booster | Minimum 90 day interval | Second booster |
| J&J | J&J or Pfizer | J&J or Pfizer | ||
OR
| Primary schedule | Booster | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First dose | Minimum 21 day interval | Second dose | Minimum 90 day interval | First booster |
| Pfizer | Pfizer | Pfizer or J&J | ||
Immunocompromised individuals who have received an additional dose of the Janssen® vaccine will become eligible to receive a booster dose 60 days after receiving the additional dose.
Immunocompromised individuals who have received an additional dose of the Pfizer vaccine will become eligible to receive a booster dose 90 days after receiving the additional dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
Booster doses are administered to allow the body to boost its immunity to the COVID-19 virus.
Booster doses no longer have to be the same vaccine as the primary vaccination series.
The decision regarding which vaccine to administer as a booster should be guided by vaccine availability. If both vaccines are available, homologous boosting should be preferred, unless the vaccinee requests to receive a heterologous booster dose, or has a history of experiencing an adverse event following immunisation.
For more information see:
- Circular of 23 December on booster doses.
- Circular 2 of 2022 reduced the intervals for booster doses and introduced the option for heterologous (different vaccine type) boosters.
- Circular 4 of 2022 introduced second booster doses after J&J vaccination.
You don't need to wait for an appointment, if you are eligible, you can go straight to a vaccination site.