COVID-19 vaccinations

For most children COVID-19 is mild, but children with some medical conditions can become very unwell and need hospital treatment. They are over 7 times more likely to be admitted to intensive care.

Vaccination will help to protect your child from getting seriously ill from COVID-19.

Spring COVID-19 vaccinations

COVID-19 spring vaccinations are now available for children aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system.

Eligible children will be invited to have their vaccination by their GP practice or hospital team.

How to book

Appointments are available for children and young people with a weakened immune system using the links below.

Over 12 years olds

You can book using the national booking system on the NHS website.

5 to 11 years old

You can book an appointment using our Trust vaccination booking system for children aged 5 to 11.

6 months to 4 years old

You can book an appointment using our Trust vaccination booking system for children aged 6 months to 4 years.

Walk-in appointments are also available but please check the COVID-19 walk-in page on the NHS website for opening times.

How to find us

Our vaccine centre is located in Francis House at our Guy's Hospital site.

Francis House
9 King's Head Yard
London SE1 1NA

Visit the Guy's and St Thomas' website for more details.

Please remember to bring your red book (personal child health record) to the appointment so that we can record the vaccination in it.

What do we mean by 'weakened immune' system?

COVID-19 vaccinations are recommended for children with immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including children:

having chemotherapy or radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients
with a genetic disorder affecting the immune system, for example deficiencies of IRAK-4 or NEMO, complement disorder, SCID)
with haematological malignancy, including leukaemia and lymphoma
receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy
on high or moderate dose corticosteroids
on non-biological oral immune modulating drugs, for example methotrexate, azathioprine, 6-mercaptopurine or mycophenolate
with auto-immune disease who may require long term immunosuppressive treatments

If your child is about to receive planned immunosuppressive therapy, ask their hospital team if they should get the vaccination before they start therapy.

If you have questions about whether your child should have a vaccination please email COVIDVaccineBookings@gstt.nhs.uk or call 020 7188 4040.

If you are feeling unwell, please wait until you have recovered to have your vaccine.

More information

Find out more about the COVID-19 vaccine on the NHS website.

For more information about vaccinations, including maps and frequently asked questions, visit the Guy’s and St Thomas’ website.

Flu vaccinations for children and young people are available through their GP, school or community clinic. Please visit the NHS website to find out more.

What to expect at your COVID-19 vaccination

Today's the day I have my COVID-19 vaccine. I'm going to explain what happens when you come to a vaccine centre like the ones at Guy's and St Thomas' hospitals.

First we check in with a member of staff, they're very friendly and ask for details like my name and date of birth.

Don't forget to sanitise your hands.

You may need to wait until it's your turn.

While we wait, let's talk about how the vaccine helps protect you and others around you.

Sometimes we come into contact with harmful germs which make us sick.

Our bodies try to fight off these germs by making special cells called antibodies, but sometimes we need a little extra help.

Vaccines help by teaching our bodies to recognise a germ and make antibodies to fight it.

Getting vaccinated means we're less likely to get COVID-19, or if we do catch it, it helps us to feel less unwell.

It also helps to stop spreading it to those around you keeping your friends and family safe. Oh it's my turn!

The vaccinator asks us a few questions to check it's okay for me to have the vaccine.

Don't be afraid to ask questions yourself, the staff are really friendly and helpful.

The vaccine is given by an injection into the arm, it's a small needle and you may feel a sharp scratch.

Just take a deep breath in and out. Done.

Wow that was so quick I hardly noticed.

You may be asked to wait for a few minutes afterwards just to check if you are okay.

After your vaccine it's normal to feel tired and your arm might ache a little bit so just take plenty of rest and be proud of yourself, you're helping to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Allergic reactions to COVID-19 vaccines are very rare. They are as rare as allergic reactions to other common vaccines your child has received. Children with food allergies (including multiple foods and severe anaphylaxis), hayfever, allergic asthma, and eczema or urticarial rashes are not at higher risk of having an allergic reaction to COVID-19 vaccines. These children can have the COVID-19 vaccine at any vaccination centre.

Children with allergies to medicines (such as antibiotics or ibuprofen) can safely have the vaccine. Children who are receiving allergy desensitisation treatments, or being treated with the medicine omalizumab (Xolair®), can also have the COVID-19 vaccine.

For children who have had confirmed anaphylaxis to a vaccine, or are allergic to any of the ingredients in the COVID-19 vaccine (a list is available at vaccination centres), please talk to their GP or allergy doctor as it might be recommended to have the vaccine in a supervised, hospital setting.

The staff at the vaccination centres are trained to recognise severe allergic reactions and have the resources to treat them.