Coronavirus vaccine and treatments
Find out if you're eligible for the spring booster jab, as well as how you can book it. Yes. The UK regulator and the...
Coronavirus, sometimes referred to as 'COVID-19', is part of a family of viruses that affects your lungs and airways. Although many of the previous rules and restrictions are no longer in place, there's still government guidance that you can follow to help keep you and your loved ones safe and well.
Coronavirus, also called COVID-19, is part of a family of viruses that includes the common cold and more serious respiratory illnesses such as SARS.
Coronavirus affects your lungs and airways. For many people, coronavirus causes mild to moderate symptoms and they'll be able to recover without needing special treatment. However, for others, coronavirus can be much more serious – they'll need medical attention and hospital treatment.
Common symptoms of coronavirus include:
Other symptoms people have reported include:
Coronavirus symptoms are very similar to symptoms of other illnesses, like the common cold and the flu.
Find out more about the flu (influenza)
If your symptoms get worse, feel unmanageable, or you feel breathless, then you should call 111 or use the 111 online service on the NHS website.
Most people with coronavirus symptoms feel better within a few days and make a full recovery within weeks. However, others can feel the effects for some time after. These long-term effects of coronavirus are sometimes referred to as 'long COVID'.
The most common symptoms of long COVID are:
But there are lots of other symptoms, including brain fog, difficulty sleeping, depression and anxiety.
If you've had coronavirus symptoms for more than 4 weeks and you're worried that they're not easing up, contact your GP or healthcare professional.
Coronavirus spreads very easily and in much the same way as the common cold or flu. Infected droplets – from coughs or sneezes – spread from person to person. This means there are simple measures you can take to prevent the spread of coronavirus, such as:
However, the best way to protect yourself from coronavirus is to make sure you're fully vaccinated – including any booster jabs you're eligible for. Booster jabs are important because research has shown that the protection the vaccines provide starts to decrease as time goes on. Plus, vaccines are being updated all the time to protect you from more recent variants of coronavirus.
The average ‘incubation period’ – the time between coming into contact with the virus and experiencing symptoms – is 5 days, but it could be anything between 1 and 14 days.
People are most likely to spread the virus to other people when they're experiencing symptoms, which is why it's important to stay at home if you have symptoms or have tested positive for coronavirus.
Yes – the UK regulator and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI – the independent experts that advise the government on all vaccines) have assessed all approved vaccines to be safe and able to offer a high level of protection against becoming severely unwell with coronavirus, including for older people.
While there are different vaccines available, no one will receive a vaccine that hasn’t gone through a proper process of approval and been shown to be safe.
Find out more about the coronavirus vaccine and other coronavirus treatments
The NHS will contact you if your NHS record suggests you might be eligible for a seasonal autumn booster jab.
From September 2024, you might be offered the COVID-19 vaccine if you:
There are a few different ways you can book in for a coronavirus vaccine or booster if you're eligible.
You can book or manage a COVID-19 vaccination appointment online through the NHS website once the service reopens for the latest booster programme. You can use this online service if you're 18 or over and registered with a GP surgery in England.
Use the COVID-19 online service on the NHS website
If you can't use the online service, or simply don't want to, you can also call 119 free of charge to book over the phone. You can speak to a translator if you need to.
When booking your appointments, it may be helpful to have your NHS number to hand – you can find it on letters from the NHS or on some prescription medications.
Some pharmacies in England have walk-in vaccination sites where, if you're eligible, you can turn up and get your jab without making an appointment or being registered with a GP.
Find your nearest walk-in vaccination site on the NHS website
It's important that you get your flu jab as well as your coronavirus booster this winter – they're different vaccinations that protect you against different viruses.
There aren't currently any restrictions or rules in place for what to do if you have symptoms of coronavirus, test positive, or both. However, current guidance recommends that people who catch coronavirus should 'try to stay at home'.
Where possible, try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people if you or the people you live with have coronavirus symptoms and have a high temperature or don't feel well enough to carry out your usual activities.
You can treat many symptoms of coronavirus at home.
You no longer have to test for coronavirus if you're showing the symptoms. However, if you do decide to test and you do test positive, the NHS advises people to try to stay at home and avoid contact with other people for 5 days after the test was taken. You should also avoid meeting people wo are more likely to get seriously ill for 10 days after the test was taken, such as people with a weakened immune system.
There aren't currently any coronavirus restrictions in the UK. However, if you're travelling abroad, it's a good idea to check the travel advice for any country you're travelling to.
Find out more about different countries' travel advice on GOV.UK
You no longer have to self-isolate if you test positive for coronavirus or are in contact with someone who has.
However, we strongly advise that if you do test positive for coronavirus you stay at home and avoid contact with people, particularly anyone who's vulnerable – even if you live in the same household.
It's no longer a legal requirement to wear a face covering. However, you may feel more comfortable wearing one in busy or enclosed spaces. Some places, such as healthcare settings, may require or encourage you to wear a face mask or covering when entering their building or using their services.
The government has published guidance to help care homes ensure that visits can take place as safely as possible.
Care home residents who have symptoms of a respiratory infection should be supported to stay away from others until they feel better and no longer have a high temperature.
Find out about the symptoms of respiratory infection on GOV.UK
Care home residents who test positive should be supported to:
Care homes have to make sure all residents can see visitors, unless there are exceptional circumstances. This means an older person in a care home should be able to receive visits from whoever they wish, unless there's a particular reason that justifies visits needing to be restricted.
The government defines 'execptional circumstances' as any situation where visiting could create significant risk to the health and wellbeing of someone living or working in the care home, and there are no other ways to deal with this risk. This can include an outbreak of COVID-19 or of other infectious diseases, such as flu.
Any restrictions in place for exceptional circumstances should be as limited as possible and only last for as long as needed to deal with the risk of COVID-19, or the outbreak of other infectious diseases.
Visits to care home residents at the end of life should always be allowed, even if restrictions are in place for other residents because of exceptional circumstances. Visits by health professionals should also always be allowed, even if visitor restrictions are in place.
This rule is part of a set of 'fundamental standards' that all care homes have to follow. These standards are enforced by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which is the health and care regulator for England.
Government guidance says visitors should:
A care home must not discourage residents from taking a visit out of the care home – to visit family, for example – inless there are exceptional circumstances.
Government guidance says that residents shouldn't usually be required to stay away from others or take a test for COVID-19 or other infectious diseases when returning from a visit out.
However, in exceptional circumstances, such as an outbreak of COVID-19, some precautions on a resident's return from a visit out might be needed to protect the health and safety of other residents.
We offer support through our free advice line on 0800 678 1602. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. We also have specialist advisers at over 120 local Age UKs.
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