COVID 19 Vaccine Checklist: What to Do Before Jab

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 (fever, a persistent cough or a change to your sense of taste or smell), you should delay having your COVID-19 vaccine. Book a PCR test as soon as possible and isolate at home in line with the government guidelines.

Similarly, if you have had a positive test without getting symptoms, put your vaccine off. It is advised to wait at least 28 days from a positive test result, before receiving your jab or booster.

It's also best to wait until you are fully recovered from any considerable non-COVID-19 illness, such as pneumonia or tonsilitis. There are two reasons for this – firstly to let your immune system concentrate on the virus it is trying to fight off, and not over-burdening it. Secondly, you want to be in the best possible health for the vaccine, so that your immune system is stimulated to respond really well – you're asking your immune system army to fight two enemies at once if you have an infection and have the vaccine at the same time.

On a community level, you also don’t want to infect others going for their vaccine or the vaccine staff themselves.

If you’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, as you are not double jabbed, you will need to complete your 10 days isolation and have a negative swab before you can go for your jab. If you have post-COVID syndrome, sometimes called long COVID, you can go ahead with your vaccination.

If you’re pregnant, it's safe to have the vaccine at any point in your pregnancy, and advised as COVID-19 carries a higher risk to you and your baby.

You can also have it if you're breastfeeding.

Let’s start with immunosuppressants. Advice regarding these medications depends on what you’re taking and why, and it’s best to get your hospital specialist’s opinion on this. Some recommend holding off for two weeks before your vaccination, so seek out this opinion as early as possible, so you’re ready when you’re offered a vaccine slot.

With anticoagulants, you should not stop this medication prior to getting your vaccine. Most people that are stable on this treatment can go ahead with the vaccination. The only exceptions are if you’re on a high dose or have a high target range INR above 3. In these cases, it’s best to speak to your anticoagulation clinic, specialist doctor or doctor beforehand.

Don’t panic if you’re reading this on the morning of your vaccination and don’t know what to do. There are doctors on hand at every vaccination centre to advise you. Continue all other medications as usual.

If you’ve just had your flu vaccine – or indeed any other vaccination, including tetanus or those for foreign travel – you should wait at least 7 days before having your COVID-19 jab. This is because you want your immune system to mount the best response it can to both vaccines, rather than spreading itself thinly and risking low immunity.

You may have been enrolled in a COVID-19 vaccination trial. If you’re offered a vaccine, speak to your trial team to confirm if you’ve received the vaccine or a dummy version. They will advise whether you should go ahead with any other vaccine offered. Unless it’s part of a trial, it’s not recommended to mix vaccine manufacturers.