At Age UK, we get all of our information from reputable sources including the NHS, academic experts, scientific publications, pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organisation, and the organisation that approves the vaccines: the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). There have been reports of other countries pausing their rollout of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine to certain groups. The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) in the UK, the European equivalent, the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and the World Health Organisation (WHO), are all confident of the safety and effectiveness of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and agree that the benefits outweigh any risks.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine latest information | Age UK

Vaccines teach our bodies to recognise antigens. This is the part of the virus that attaches to the cells in our body – something they need to do to replicate and cause an infection. Your body’s immune system produces antibodies that ‘match’ the antigens from a specific virus and prevent them from attaching to cells. If you have concerns based on specific medications or medical conditions, here are some links which may help answer your questions: As of August 2020 there were 4.2m over-75 households with free licences that, under the new policy, needed to transition to new paid or free licences.Any side effects you experience can also be reported to the MHRA Yellow Card Scheme by your doctor. No visits have been authorised to anyone who had previously held a free over-75s licence. This policy has been in place since August last year.

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This natural immunity from having an illness doesn’t usually last as long as the immunity given by a vaccine, so it’s recommended that if you’ve had coronavirus you do still get a vaccine.Millions of people have received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. A small number of people have developed health conditions after vaccination. There is substantial evidence of the benefits of the vaccine in preventing illness from coronavirus. The MHRA, EMA and WHO continue to closely monitor all coronavirus vaccines.

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Each vaccine has gone through trials to ensure the risk of serious side effects is very low. However, as with other vaccines – such as the flu vaccine – there are some common side effects. These include: While your body may have built up some natural immunity to coronavirus if you’ve already had it, we don’t know for certain how long this immunity lasts or how well it protects you from catching it again. It’s recommended that pregnant women should only receive the vaccine in certain circumstances. Children shouldn't get the vaccine at the moment, either. This is simply because it hasn't yet been tested on these groups.

Here's how, with your support, Age UK is supporting older people through the cost of living crisis. From the outset, we have planned for this transition process to take time and we are making good progress. We know there have been a small number of cases in which there has been a delay or the transition process has not been straightforward. While this collaborative approach means vaccines were made available sooner, it doesn’t mean any shortcuts were taken. Each vaccine approved has been through all the essential stages in its development. As the coronavirus pandemic has had such an impact globally, researchers and pharmaceutical companies worked together to reduce the amount of time spent waiting between the phases of development.