travel vaccines nhs

Travel health advice and travel vaccinations

You should make an appointment for a travel health risk assessment if you’re travelling abroad and think you need:

• a malaria risk assessment
• further advice

A travel health professional will take you through your travel health risk assessment.

Your GP is no longer your point of contact for a travel health risk assessment, including travel vaccines.

NHS travel health service

NHS Scotland provides a travel health service that includes some free vaccines.

To find information on how to make an appointment for a travel health risk assessment in Scotland, contact the NHS health board where you live.

Private travel clinics

You can also visit an independent (private) travel clinic for:

• a travel health risk assessment
• travel advice
• other travel vaccines

You should arrange a travel health risk assessment 6 to 8 weeks before you travel. This gives time for any vaccines you need to become fully effective.

If your trip is sooner, remember it’s never too late to get advice.

Travel health risk assessment

If you’re planning to travel outside the UK, your travel health needs will depend on your individual situation. This includes:

• your destination
• how long you’ll stay
• what you’ll be doing
• your general health

The fitfortravel website provides country-specific advice on:

• recommended vaccines
• other risk prevention advice

If you think you need vaccines and/or a malaria risk assessment, you should make an appointment with a travel health professional.

A travel health risk assessment is also recommended for some people, even when vaccines or malaria tablets aren’t required. This includes:

• older people
• those with a weakened immune system
• those with long-term conditions that need medications
• pregnant women

Travel vaccines

The following travel vaccines are free on the NHS in Scotland:

• diphtheria, polio and tetanus (combined booster)
• hepatitis A

It’s likely that you’ll have to pay for vaccines against:

• yellow fever
• Japanese encephalitis
• tick-borne encephalitis

You may also have to pay for the following vaccines if they’re only needed for travel purposes:

• hepatitis B
• tuberculosis (TB)

Proof of vaccination

To enter some countries you may need proof that you have had particular vaccines. This includes the yellow fever vaccine.

Yellow fever vaccines are only available from designated centres. To find out if you need a yellow fever vaccine or proof of the vaccine, you should contact a yellow fever clinic.

To request a list of any other vaccines held on your GP record, contact your GP practice. GP practices cannot provide proof of COVID vaccine.

Preventing risk while travelling

Vaccines or anti-malarial tablets will not protect against all travel health risks. This means you’ll need to take extra steps to protect your health whilst travelling abroad.

The fitfortravel website has further advice on preventing health risks whilst travelling. This includes information on:

• general travel advice
• disease prevention

Travelling abroad to visit friends and relatives

If you’re travelling abroad to visit friends or relatives, you may be at higher risk of developing travel-related illnesses. For example, malaria or typhoid. This could be because:

• you may be living with the local community
• your trip might be longer than the average holiday
• you might be visiting more rural areas where it’s difficult to take precautions that reduce your risk

The fitfortravel website provides information and advice on visiting friends and family abroad .

Travel safety advice

You can find country-specific safety and security advice through the UK government website .

Travel insurance advice

Many countries don’t have the same access to medical treatments as the UK and can be expensive.

It’s recommended that all travellers get comprehensive travel insurance before travelling.

When you return home

If you become unwell and/or develop a fever when you return home, it’s important to get medical advice as soon as possible. You should seek medical help even if it’s up to 1 month after you’ve been travelling.

Always make sure you tell the health professional that you’ve recently travelled abroad. This is especially important if you have been to a country where malaria is a risk.

Donating blood after travelling abroad

Travel outside the UK can affect whether you can give blood donations. This is because some infections may be caught abroad. This is usually through mosquito or other insect bites.

There are conditions for donating blood if you’ve been to certain countries. This can depend on your length of stay and some other factors.

Further information on donating blood after travelling abroad

Source: Public Health Scotland - Opens in new browser window

Last updated: 01 March 2024

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Travel Advice and Vaccines

If you’re planning to travel outside the UK, you may need to be vaccinated against some of the serious diseases found in other parts of the world.

Vaccinations are available to protect you against infections such as  yellow fever ,  typhoid  and  hepatitis A .

In the UK, the  NHS routine immunisation (vaccination) schedule protects you against a number of diseases, but does not cover all of the infectious diseases found overseas.

If possible, see the GP or a private travel clinic at least 6 to 8 weeks before you’re due to travel.

Some vaccines need to be given well in advance to allow your body to develop immunity.

And some vaccines involve a number of doses spread over several weeks or months.

You may be more at risk of some diseases, for example, if you’re:

– travelling in rural areas – backpacking – staying in hostels or camping – on a long trip rather than a package holiday

If you have a pre-existing health problem, this may make you more at risk of infection or complications from a travel-related illness.

You can find out which vaccinations are necessary or recommended for the areas you’ll be visiting on these websites:

Travel Health Pro

NHS Fit for Travel

Some countries require proof of vaccination (for example, for polio or yellow fever vaccination), which must be documented on an International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICVP) before you enter or when you leave a country.

Saudi Arabia requires proof of vaccination against certain types of  meningitis  for visitors arriving for the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages.

Even if an ICVP is not required, it’s still a good idea to take a record of the vaccinations you have had with you.

Find out more about the vaccines available for travellers abroad

Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination

You may need COVID-19 vaccinations to travel abroad.

Check the  foreign travel advice on GOV.UK  to find out the entry requirements of the country you’re visiting.

Find out more about the NHS COVID Pass for travel.

First, phone or visit the GP practice or practice nurse to find out whether your existing UK vaccinations are up-to-date.

If you have any records of your vaccinations, let the GP know what you have had previously.

The GP or practice nurse may be able to give you general advice about travel vaccinations and travel health, such as protecting yourself from malaria.

They can give you any missing doses of your UK vaccines if you need them.

Not all travel vaccinations are available free on the NHS, even if they’re recommended for travel to a certain area.

If the GP practice can give you the travel vaccines you need but they are not available on the NHS, ask for:

– written information on what vaccines are needed – the cost of each dose or course – any other charges you may have to pay, such as for some certificates of vaccination

You can also get travel vaccines from:

– private travel vaccination clinics – pharmacies offering travel healthcare services

The following travel vaccines are available free on the NHS from your GP surgery:

polio (given as a  combined diphtheria/tetanus/polio jab )

hepatitis A

These vaccines are free because they protect against diseases thought to represent the greatest risk to public health if they were brought into the country.

Travel vaccines

On this page.

You can get vaccinations for international travel at local community pharmacies.

What is a travel health service?

If you are planning to travel outside the UK your travel health needs will depend on your individual situation and the following considerations:

• your general health
• where you are travelling to
• where you will be staying
• how long you will be staying
• what you will be doing throughout your trip

Lots of useful travel health information is available online at Fit for Travel , provided by NHS Scotland. It is important that you read through the information available here, before arranging a travel consultation with the community pharmacy NHS Highland Travel Health Service.

Travel Health Service at community pharmacies

The NHS Highland Travel Health Service will provide you with all of the information that you require to keep yourself and your family safe. 

Listed below are the community pharmacies across Highland that provide this specialist NHS travel health service. While this new service gets up and running some GP practices may still be offering travel vaccines to their registered patients.

Once you have read through the information on Fit for Travel , you may require an assessment, further advice and vaccinations before you travel.

Please contact any of the participating community pharmacies to agree a suitable appointment for your consultation to allow them to complete a full travel risk assessment. Travel health appointments should ideally take place 8 weeks before you intend on travelling to ensure any vaccinations provided take full effect before your trip.

• Alness - Alness Pharmacy
• Beauly - Your Local Boots Pharmacy
• Campbeltown (Longrow South) - Your Local Boots Pharmacy
• Conon Bridge - Conon Bridge Pharmacy  
• Dingwall - Dingwall Pharmacy
• Dornoch - Mitchells Chemist
• Fort Augustus - Fort Augustus Pharmacy
• Helensburgh - Rowlands Pharmacy
• Inverness - Care Pharmacy (Cradlehall)
• Inverness - Dalneigh Pharmacy
• Inverness - Lochardil Pharmacy
• Inverness - Rowlands Pharmacy (Balloan Park)
• Inverness  - Superdrug  
• Kyle of Lochalsh - Right Medicine Pharmacy
• Lochgilphead - Truhealth
• Muir of Ord - Right Medicine Pharmacy
• Newtonmore - Strathspey Pharmacy
• Spean Bridge  - MhorHealth Pharmacy
• Tornagrain - Tornagrain Pharmacy

Map of pharmacies providing travel vaccines

What travel vaccines are provided for free by the NHS?

The following travel vaccines continue to be available free on the NHS to citizens living in Scotland for the purpose of travel:

• hepatitis A
• diptheria, polio, tetanus (administered as a combined vaccine)

The above vaccines are free as they protect against diseases that are considered to present the greatest risk to public health if they were to be brought into the country.

What can I expect when I attend the community pharmacy?

You will receive your consultation in a private room which is fit for purpose.

The pharmacist will ask about your travel plans, which countries you are travelling to, rural or city sites, what time of year?

You will be asked about your previous vaccination history. If you have a vaccination card please take it with you.

The pharmacist will ask about your current and previous health concerns. If you have a repeat medication list, please take it with you.

The pharmacist will advise you on what vaccinations you require, which ones are provided free on the NHS and which ones you will have to pay for. They will also advise on whether you need to take tablets to help prevent you getting malaria.

The pharmacist will give you advice on other travel health issues and will give you a leaflet or a web address where you can find out more information.

If you require vaccination then the pharmacist can give you your vaccination there on the day or they may have to order the vaccine in which case they will arrange another appointment that suits you. They will advise you on any side effects and what you can do to reduce them.

The pharmacist will record all of the vaccinations they give you and this will be entered into your GP notes.

If you need to pay for any vaccines, you will need to pay the pharmacist at the time you get your vaccination.

Also available:

• portable hearing loops
• a quiet space/room
• all sites have access to language interpretation support

Important: Share your COVID Status when travelling internationally

Download the NHS Scotland COVID Status app.

Your COVID Status (or COVID passport) contains details of your vaccination record.

Immunisation and vaccines

Covid-19 spring vaccine.

Don’t let your protection fade this spring.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) and flu vaccinations

It's strongly recommended you get vaccinated for flu and coronavirus. Vaccines were offered to those eligible this pa...

Vaccinations for adults

Routine vaccinations for adults, and for during pregnancy.

Pneumococcal vaccinations

The pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine is also known as the PPV, pneumococcal or 'pneumo' vaccine.

Shingles vaccinations

Adults in Scotland are offered routine vaccination for shingles at age 65, or 70 or over.

Vaccinations for babies, children and young people

Vaccinations available for babies, pre-school children and young people from 11 years.

Child flu vaccination

NHS Scotland recommends all eligible children should get the vaccine to help protect them from influenza (flu).

Last updated: 9 February 2024

Next review date: 5 August 2024

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• General Travel Health Advice

Before you travel 

Before you book travel, do you need a travel health risk assessment, travel health risk assessment, record of previous vaccinations, a-z of scottish health board contacts.

If you're planning to travel outside the UK, your travel health needs will depend on your individual situation, including:

• your destination
• how long you'll stay
• what you’ll be doing
• your general health

You should read the country specific advice for your planned destination(s) for information on advisable vaccinations, malaria and other health risks:

• A-Z of Destinations

If you think you need vaccines, malaria advice and/or tablets, you should have a travel health risk assessment.

A travel health risk assessment is also advisable for some people, even when vaccines or malaria tablets are not required. This includes:

• older people
• those with a weakened immune system
• those with long-term conditions that require medications
• pregnant women

This site only provides general guidance on travel health risks. For tailored advice for your individual situation, we recommend you make an appointment with a travel health professional.

To make an appointment for a travel health risk assessment:

• In Scotland , you should contact the NHS health board where you live.
• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland you should contact your NHS GP.

Ideally, you should book your appointment 6 to 8 weeks before you travel. This gives time for any vaccinations you might need to become fully effective.

• If your trip is sooner remember it is never too late to seek advice.

How to make an appointment in Scotland

You can make an appointment with a travel health professional via your local health board . Please be aware that your initial risk assessment may be over the phone or by video call.

If you need help to understand how to access a travel health risk assessment in Scotland, please call the NHS Inform helpline on 0800 22 44 88.

• The NHS Inform helpline is open from 9.00am to 5.00pm Monday to Friday. ​

Not sure which is your health board?

When you get in touch with your health board or the NHS Inform helpline you should let them know your postcode. This can save you time by making sure you are contacting the right health board.

It is helpful to keep a record of any vaccines you have received in the past, including as a child.

If available, you should bring your vaccination record with you to your travel health risk assessment appointment so that the health professional can determine if you need any boosters before travelling abroad.

• To request a report of vaccines held on your GP record, you should contact your GP practice.
• Proof of COVID vaccination can be obtained using the COVID Status app .

Ayrshire & Arran

• Website: Vaccination Hub
• Email: [email protected]
• Website: NHS Borders Vaccination Service
• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01896 809 250 - call between 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday-Friday

Dumfries & Galloway

• Website: NHS Dumfries & Galloway Travel Vaccinations
• Website: Fife Fit For Travel

Forth Valley

• Website: Travel Health Service NHS Forth Valley
• Website: Travel Vaccination | Vax Grampian

Greater Glasgow & Clyde

• Website: Greater Glasgow & Clyde Overseas Travel Vaccinations
• Website: NHS Highland Vaccination
• Contact your local GP for further information

Lanarkshire

• Website: NHS Lanarkshire Travel Vaccinations
• Website: NHS Lothian Travel Clinics
• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 0300 303 5313
• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01595 743 319 (please leave a voicemail message)
• Email: [email protected]
• Telephone: 01382 423 108 - call between 9.00am and 5.00pm Monday-Friday 

Western Isles / Eileanan Siar

• Telephone: 0808 196 8383 - call between 8.30am and 5.00pm Monday-Friday 

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Travel vaccinations

Peer reviewed by Dr Colin Tidy, MRCGP Last updated by Dr Toni Hazell Last updated 10 Feb 2023

Meets Patient’s editorial guidelines

In this series: Hepatitis A vaccine Hepatitis B vaccine Rabies vaccine Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine Typhoid vaccine Yellow fever vaccine

Travel vaccinations are an essential part of holiday and travel planning, particularly if your journey takes you to an exotic destination or 'off the beaten track'. The risks are not restricted to tropical travel, although most travel vaccines are targeted at diseases which are more common in the tropics.

For more general information about travel see the separate leaflet called Health Advice for Travel Abroad .

This leaflet discusses the vaccinations that are available and gives some idea of the time you need to allow to complete a full protective course of vaccination. Further information specific to your destination can be obtained from your surgery (if they have the resources to offer this service), from specialist travel clinics and from a number of websites. You will find a selection of these listed at the bottom of this leaflet and under references.

In this article :

Why do i need travel vaccinations, what travel vaccinations do i need, malaria prevention, diseases for which no vaccine is yet available, who should be vaccinated, where can i get travel vaccinations, free travel vaccinations.

Continue reading below

The rise in worldwide and adventurous tourism has seen a massive increase in people travelling to exotic destinations. This leads to exposure to diseases that are less likely to occur at home. These are diseases against which we have no natural immunity and against which we are not routinely immunised in the UK. They include:

Insect-borne conditions such as malaria, dengue, yellow fever and Zika virus.

Diseases acquired from eating and drinking, such as hepatitis A and traveller's diarrhoea.

Diseases acquired from others or conditions of poor hygiene, such as hepatitis B and Ebola virus.

Diseases acquired directly from animals, such as rabies.

These are illnesses which might not only spoil your holiday but might also pose a risk to your life. For specific advice on travelling to more remote places: see the separate leaflet called Travelling to Remote Locations .

Patient picks for Travel vaccinations

How long before you travel should you get vaccinated?

Tick-borne encephalitis vaccine

Before travelling outside the UK it is important to check whether there are any vaccinations available which could protect you. You can do this by making a travel planning appointment at your GP surgery. During your consultation a specialist travel nurse will complete a risk assessment to determine which vaccines are right for you. If your GP does not offer this service, or does not have an appointment available before you travel, then you will need to seek this advice from a private travel clinic.

There are also several websites which aim to offer up-to-date, country-specific advice on vaccinations and on disease patterns.

You can find out if travel vaccines are recommended for any countries you are planning to visit from the Travel Health Pro website or NHS website Fitfortravel if you are in Scotland.

Vaccination courses need to be planned well in advance. Some vaccinations involve a course of injections at specified intervals and it can take up to six months to complete a course. Some vaccinations can't be given together.

The following table lists the travel vaccinations which are available and in common use in the UK. Always check with your surgery or online before travelling, particularly to unusual destinations, for local outbreaks of disease which mean other specific vaccinations are advised.

Travel vaccinations (adults)

The protection offered by vaccination is not always 100%. Vaccination will greatly reduce your chances of acquiring the disease and in many cases the protection level offered is extremely high. The protection will also not be lifelong. However, there isn't a vaccine available for every disease - for example, there is none at present against malaria.

Even where a vaccine is available, vaccination should not be the only thing you rely on for protection against illness. It is important to know the risks; taking sensible steps to avoid exposing yourself to disease is by far the most useful thing you can do.

Pregnant women

It is important that pregnant women also receive the necessary vaccinations before travelling. Some vaccines, however, are not safe to use in pregnancy - see table below. In some cases your doctor or nurse may ask you to consider whether the journey could wait until after the birth of your baby, as the risks of disease may be very real and you may be unable to fully protect yourself and your baby.

There is currently no vaccine or medicine to prevent Zika virus, which is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes and which is of particular concern to pregnant women due to its link to birth defects. The recent outbreak of the virus is currently considered a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. See the separate leaflet called Zika Virus.

No vaccination is available against malaria. People who live permanently in malarial zones have partial protection but they lose this swiftly when they move away. Protection against malaria is through a combination of avoidance of mosquito bites and the use of malaria tablets.

Tablets have to be started before entering the malarial zone and continued for some days or weeks after leaving it. The recommended tablet regime varies by area. Your practice nurse will have access to up-to-date advice on recommendations for your journey. See the separate leaflet called Malaria Prevention for more details.

There are many tropical diseases for which no vaccination is yet available. These include:

Insect (arthropod)-borne viruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya .

Infections carried by water-dwelling organisms such as bilharzia and flukes

Parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis, onchocerciasis, trypanosomiasis and hydatid disease. Parasites are living things (organisms) that live within, or on, another organism.

There is also as yet no vaccine against HIV .

Most of these conditions can be avoided by travellers taking reasonable precautions around:

Food and drink.

Swimming in water known to be infested with parasitic organisms.

Exposure to biting insects.

Unprotected sexual encounters.

People often at greatest risk when travelling are those visiting a country which they think of as their place of origin, where members of their family live and roots may be. People often believe - falsely - that as one-time residents who may have been born and raised there, they have a natural immunity. They feel that they are not on holiday but visiting home and that vaccinations aren't needed.

Unfortunately this is not true. We acquire natural immunity by living in a place and being constantly exposed to the diseases that are present. When we leave the area for distant shores that protection is rapidly lost and we need the protection of vaccination, together with the other precautions listed above.

This is particularly true of malaria, where visitors 'going back home' may find their relatives puzzled and even amused that they are taking anti-malarial medication. Even so, it's very important to do so. It's only by living there all the time that you acquire your resident relatives' level of immunity. Your immune system has a short memory for this sort of partial immunity.

Many NHS surgeries offer a full range of travel vaccinations. However, your surgery may not have the resources to fit you in before you travel. Alternatively, you can visit private specialist travel clinics.

The NHS does not usually cover travellers for vaccinations relating to exotic travel, although some vaccinations such as hepatitis A are usually free. Aid workers and healthcare workers are often offered free vaccinations against occupational risks but others have to pay.

Anti-malarial tablets are never free and can add a substantial sum to the cost of your trip. Whilst this may seem expensive, it is usually a small sum relative to the costs of your travel. Safeguarding your health should be considered an essential part of any trip.

If a vaccination certificate is issued keep it and update it over the years so that you have a full record. Your NHS surgery will have a record of vaccines they have administered to you and can often issue a copy. However, the yellow fever vaccination certificate needs to be saved, as this cannot be re-issued.

Further reading

There are many excellent websites offering detailed advice for travellers by country and region. You will find a selection under 'Further Reading and References', below.

Dr Mary Lowth is an author or the original author of this leaflet.

Further reading and references

• Travel Health Pro ; National Travel Health Network and Centre (NaTHNaC)
• Travelling if you have a medical condition ; British Airways (includes downloadable MEDIF forms)
• Immunisation against infectious disease - the Green Book (latest edition) ; UK Health Security Agency.
• Travellers' Health ; US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Article History

The information on this page is written and peer reviewed by qualified clinicians.

Next review due: 9 Feb 2028

10 feb 2023 | latest version.

Last updated by

Peer reviewed by

29 Apr 2014 | Originally published

Authored by:

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• Health and social care
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Boosters to be added to NHS COVID Pass for travel

Boosters and third doses will appear on the COVID Pass in England, making it easy for people to show their vaccine status when travelling abroad.

• NHS COVID Pass can now be used to demonstrate proof of a booster or third dose for outbound international travel
• Booster vaccination records to be visible through both NHS App and on NHS.UK
• Over 13 million booster vaccines and third doses delivered across the UK so far

Travellers who have had a booster or a third dose will be able to demonstrate their vaccine status through the NHS COVID Pass from Friday 19 November.

The addition will enable those who have had their booster or third dose to travel to countries including Israel, Croatia and Austria who have already introduced a time limit for the COVID-19 vaccine to be valid for quarantine-free travel.

Booster and third doses will not be added to the domestic COVID Pass as it is not a current requirement for individuals to receive booster doses to qualify as fully vaccinated. It will also not be necessary to show evidence of a booster for travel into England at this time.

Over 13 million booster and third jabs have now been administered in the UK, providing those eligible with maximum protection as we head into winter.

This week, the government has also accepted the advice from the independent experts at the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to expand the booster programme to those aged 40 to 49, which means millions more people will be eligible to get their booster.

Health and Social Care secretary Sajid Javid said:

We want to make it as easy as possible for people to show their vaccine status if they are travelling abroad. This update to the NHS COVID Pass will mean people can have their complete medical picture at their fingertips if they are going on holiday or seeing loved ones overseas. Getting a top-up jab is our best defence against this virus and I urge all those who are eligible to come forward and get boosted.

The NHS COVID Pass enables people to demonstrate their COVID-19 status when travelling abroad or when visiting organisations who have opted to use the domestic certification process. Since its launch on 17 May, almost 20 million people have accessed the COVID Pass via the NHS App.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said:

Getting a booster is the best way you can protect yourself ahead of winter and it’s great those who have come forward can now demonstrate their vaccination status through the NHS COVID Pass if they are travelling overseas. It has also never been easier to book your booster, with walk-in sites open across the country and appointments available to pre-book a month before you are eligible for your top-up. For anyone who hasn’t yet had their jab, come forward as soon as possible for maximum protection ahead of Christmas.

Booster and third doses will show up automatically in the digital COVID Pass and will be visible from midday on Friday for users in England but will not immediately be available via the COVID Pass letter service. This will be updated in due course.

The booster vaccine will appear on the COVID Pass in Wales from 29 November. However evidence of a booster vaccine is not needed to enter venues in Wales which require a COVID Pass for entry. Evidence of 2 vaccinations or a negative lateral flow test in the last 48 hours remain the requirement.

Vaccines give high levels of protection but immunity reduces over time, so it is vital that people come forward to get their COVID-19 booster vaccine to top-up their defences and protect themselves this winter.

Results from the first UK real-world study by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine booster significantly increased protection against symptomatic disease to nearly 95% in those aged 50 and above.

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Vaccinations National Booking Service

We're providing systems that enable people to book appointments at sites across England.

If you have received a letter inviting you to book an appointment, go to the Book a coronavirus vaccination service

About this service

We're providing systems that enable people to book appointments across England.

The Vaccinations National Booking Service is made up of:

• an online booking service available to the public on the NHS website to book a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment
• an online booking service available to the public on the NHS website to book or manage a free NHS flu vaccination at a pharmacy
• an appointment management system for staff working at vaccination centres and community pharmacies offering coronavirus and flu vaccinations - Q-Flow
• an app for checking people into their appointments when they arrive at vaccination sites - the Check a vaccination appointment service (Check-In App)
• a training tool for 119 agents to familiarise themselves with the various booking journeys so they can support the public

NHS App users can also book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment.

There is also a telephone service, 119, for people who cannot or do not want to use the online booking service. NHS England runs this. The phoneline operators use the Book a coronavirus vaccination service on behalf of callers.

Other local solutions are in place, in addition to the Vaccinations National Booking Service, to enable hospital hubs and primary care networks to offer appointments to patients. 

Primary care networks can choose from an assured selection of appointment management systems through the Digital Care Services Framework (GP IT Futures).

Online booking service to book a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment

The coronavirus vaccination booking service will accept appointment bookings from people who have received a notification from the NHS, through the national service by text or letter, asking them to book. People who have not received a notification may also be eligible to book using the service.

The service accepts bookings from eligible people registered with a GP in England. 

Users provide their NHS number which is used to check they are eligible, and helps ensure that information about their vaccination is saved to their medical records. Those without an NHS number can be vaccinated at walk-in sites .

Users can book first, second doses, and booster appointments, as recommended by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation  (JCVI).

The service sends users a booking confirmation, by text message or email, which they take to the vaccination centre when they go to their appointment.

The service also allows people to cancel and re-book their appointments if they need to.

Online booking service to book a free NHS flu vaccination at a pharmacy

The flu vaccination booking service will accept appointment bookings from people who have received a notification from the NHS, through the national service by text or letter, asking them to book. People who have not received a notification may also be eligible to book using the service.

The service accepts bookings from eligible people that are registered with a GP in England. 

Users provide their NHS number, which is used to check they are eligible, and helps ensure that information about their vaccination is saved to their medical records.

Users can book an appointment for the current season of flu vaccination.

Q-Flow appointment management system

Q-Flow is used by staff working at the sites offering vaccinations. It is linked to the online booking service. Users are assigned to a user group within Q-Flow, which determines their permissions and the tasks they can perform. 

Following assurance and confirmation of completion of readiness assessments, NHS Digital will create the site in the Vaccinations National Booking Service and create a Q-Flow user account for the lead IT admin (site manager user). Site manager users will then be able to set up site attributes and schedule appointments in Q-Flow, to allow patients to book via the National Booking Service. 

Staff can also use Q-Flow to edit appointment availability, and view and manage booked appointments.

Q-Flow guidance

How to use Q-Flow, the appointment management system that interacts with the National Booking Service, enabling people to book vaccinations at vaccination centres.

Check a vaccination appointment service (Check-In app)

Check a vaccination appointment service (Check-In app) is a separate app to Q-Flow and allows sites to check patients in. 

When someone arrives at a vaccination centre for their booked appointment, staff who have been authorised to use the Check-In app will:

• Search for the appointment on the system using the booking reference or name and date of birth.
• Confirm whether the person attending the appointment is eligible to be vaccinated.
• Check the citizen into the appointment if appropriate

Guidance for arrival stewards and assessment clinicians

Arrival stewards and assessment clinicians use this app to view details of a patient’s appointment and check them in to the site.

119 training tool

A training tool for 119 call agents working on the NHS COVID-19 vaccine booking service, to familiarise themselves with the various booking journeys so they can support the public.

More information and guidance on the service . 

NHS App users

People who use the NHS App can also book or manage a coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination appointment. A menu option displayed within the app provides the same online coronavirus (COVID-19) booking service but uses the login credentials already given when logging into the NHS App.

You must be logged in to the NHS App to use this feature.

Related pages

National Booking Service - training and onboarding

Training and onboarding information for the National Booking Service (NBS).

Last edited: 17 January 2024 2:28 pm

• Articles   >

The Moscow Metro Museum of Art: 10 Must-See Stations

There are few times one can claim having been on the subway all afternoon and loving it, but the Moscow Metro provides just that opportunity.  While many cities boast famous public transport systems—New York’s subway, London’s underground, San Salvador’s chicken buses—few warrant hours of exploration.  Moscow is different: Take one ride on the Metro, and you’ll find out that this network of railways can be so much more than point A to B drudgery.

The Metro began operating in 1935 with just thirteen stations, covering less than seven miles, but it has since grown into the world’s third busiest transit system ( Tokyo is first ), spanning about 200 miles and offering over 180 stops along the way.  The construction of the Metro began under Joseph Stalin’s command, and being one of the USSR’s most ambitious building projects, the iron-fisted leader instructed designers to create a place full of svet (radiance) and svetloe budushchee (a radiant future), a palace for the people and a tribute to the Mother nation.

Consequently, the Metro is among the most memorable attractions in Moscow.  The stations provide a unique collection of public art, comparable to anything the city’s galleries have to offer and providing a sense of the Soviet era, which is absent from the State National History Museum.  Even better, touring the Metro delivers palpable, experiential moments, which many of us don’t get standing in front of painting or a case of coins.

Though tours are available , discovering the Moscow Metro on your own provides a much more comprehensive, truer experience, something much less sterile than following a guide.  What better place is there to see the “real” Moscow than on mass transit: A few hours will expose you to characters and caricatures you’ll be hard-pressed to find dining near the Bolshoi Theater.  You become part of the attraction, hear it in the screech of the train, feel it as hurried commuters brush by: The Metro sucks you beneath the city and churns you into the mix.

With the recommendations of our born-and-bred Muscovite students, my wife Emma and I have just taken a self-guided tour of what some locals consider the top ten stations of the Moscow Metro. What most satisfied me about our Metro tour was the sense of adventure .  I loved following our route on the maps of the wagon walls as we circled the city, plotting out the course to the subsequent stops; having the weird sensation of being underground for nearly four hours; and discovering the next cavern of treasures, playing Indiana Jones for the afternoon, piecing together fragments of Russia’s mysterious history.  It’s the ultimate interactive museum.

Top Ten Stations (In order of appearance)

Kievskaya station.

Kievskaya Station went public in March of 1937, the rails between it and Park Kultury Station being the first to cross the Moscow River.  Kievskaya is full of mosaics depicting aristocratic scenes of Russian life, with great cameo appearances by Lenin, Trotsky, and Stalin.  Each work has a Cyrillic title/explanation etched in the marble beneath it; however, if your Russian is rusty, you can just appreciate seeing familiar revolutionary dates like 1905 ( the Russian Revolution ) and 1917 ( the October Revolution ).

Mayakovskaya Station

Mayakovskaya Station ranks in my top three most notable Metro stations. Mayakovskaya just feels right, done Art Deco but no sense of gaudiness or pretention.  The arches are adorned with rounded chrome piping and create feeling of being in a jukebox, but the roof’s expansive mosaics of the sky are the real showstopper.  Subjects cleverly range from looking up at a high jumper, workers atop a building, spires of Orthodox cathedrals, to nimble aircraft humming by, a fleet of prop planes spelling out CCCP in the bluest of skies.

Novoslobodskaya Station

Novoslobodskaya is the Metro’s unique stained glass station.  Each column has its own distinctive panels of colorful glass, most of them with a floral theme, some of them capturing the odd sailor, musician, artist, gardener, or stenographer in action.  The glass is framed in Art Deco metalwork, and there is the lovely aspect of discovering panels in the less frequented haunches of the hall (on the trackside, between the incoming staircases).  Novosblod is, I’ve been told, the favorite amongst out-of-town visitors.

Komsomolskaya Station

Komsomolskaya Station is one of palatial grandeur.  It seems both magnificent and obligatory, like the presidential palace of a colonial city.  The yellow ceiling has leafy, white concrete garland and a series of golden military mosaics accenting the tile mosaics of glorified Russian life.  Switching lines here, the hallway has an Alice-in-Wonderland feel, impossibly long with decorative tile walls, culminating in a very old station left in a remarkable state of disrepair, offering a really tangible glimpse behind the palace walls.

Dostoevskaya Station

Dostoevskaya is a tribute to the late, great hero of Russian literature .  The station at first glance seems bare and unimpressive, a stark marble platform without a whiff of reassembled chips of tile.  However, two columns have eerie stone inlay collages of scenes from Dostoevsky’s work, including The Idiot , The Brothers Karamazov , and Crime and Punishment.   Then, standing at the center of the platform, the marble creates a kaleidoscope of reflections.  At the entrance, there is a large, inlay portrait of the author.

Chkalovskaya Station

Chkalovskaya does space Art Deco style (yet again).  Chrome borders all.  Passageways with curvy overhangs create the illusion of walking through the belly of a chic, new-age spacecraft.  There are two (kos)mosaics, one at each end, with planetary subjects.  Transferring here brings you above ground, where some rather elaborate metalwork is on display.  By name similarity only, I’d expected Komsolskaya Station to deliver some kosmonaut décor; instead, it was Chkalovskaya that took us up to the space station.

Elektrozavodskaya Station

Elektrozavodskaya is full of marble reliefs of workers, men and women, laboring through the different stages of industry.  The superhuman figures are round with muscles, Hollywood fit, and seemingly undeterred by each Herculean task they respectively perform.  The station is chocked with brass, from hammer and sickle light fixtures to beautiful, angular framework up the innards of the columns.  The station’s art pieces are less clever or extravagant than others, but identifying the different stages of industry is entertaining.

Baumanskaya Statio

Baumanskaya Station is the only stop that wasn’t suggested by the students.  Pulling in, the network of statues was just too enticing: Out of half-circle depressions in the platform’s columns, the USSR’s proud and powerful labor force again flaunts its success.  Pilots, blacksmiths, politicians, and artists have all congregated, posing amongst more Art Deco framing.  At the far end, a massive Soviet flag dons the face of Lenin and banners for ’05, ’17, and ‘45.  Standing in front of the flag, you can play with the echoing roof.

Ploshchad Revolutsii Station

Novokuznetskaya Station

Novokuznetskaya Station finishes off this tour, more or less, where it started: beautiful mosaics.  This station recalls the skyward-facing pieces from Mayakovskaya (Station #2), only with a little larger pictures in a more cramped, very trafficked area.  Due to a line of street lamps in the center of the platform, it has the atmosphere of a bustling market.  The more inventive sky scenes include a man on a ladder, women picking fruit, and a tank-dozer being craned in.  The station’s also has a handsome black-and-white stone mural.

Here is a map and a brief description of our route:

Start at (1)Kievskaya on the “ring line” (look for the squares at the bottom of the platform signs to help you navigate—the ring line is #5, brown line) and go north to Belorusskaya, make a quick switch to the Dark Green/#2 line, and go south one stop to (2)Mayakovskaya.  Backtrack to the ring line—Brown/#5—and continue north, getting off at (3)Novosblodskaya and (4)Komsolskaya.  At Komsolskaya Station, transfer to the Red/#1 line, go south for two stops to Chistye Prudy, and get on the Light Green/#10 line going north.  Take a look at (5)Dostoevskaya Station on the northern segment of Light Green/#10 line then change directions and head south to (6)Chkalovskaya, which offers a transfer to the Dark Blue/#3 line, going west, away from the city center.  Have a look (7)Elektroskaya Station before backtracking into the center of Moscow, stopping off at (8)Baumskaya, getting off the Dark Blue/#3 line at (9)Ploschad Revolyutsii.  Change to the Dark Green/#2 line and go south one stop to see (10)Novokuznetskaya Station.

Check out our new Moscow Indie Travel Guide , book a flight to Moscow and read 10 Bars with Views Worth Blowing the Budget For

Jonathon Engels, formerly a patron saint of misadventure, has been stumbling his way across cultural borders since 2005 and is currently volunteering in the mountains outside of Antigua, Guatemala.  For more of his work, visit his website and blog .

Photo credits:   SergeyRod , all others courtesy of the author and may not be used without permission

Book, cancel or change a COVID-19 vaccination appointment

Use this service to:

• check if you need a vaccination
• book a vaccination
• check your existing appointment details
• cancel your appointment

You can use this service if you are registered with a GP surgery in England.

Find out how to register with a GP surgery if you're not registered.

How it works

The service will check if you need a vaccination before you book. To change or cancel your appointment, you’ll need the booking reference number we sent you.

Find a walk in centre

You can find a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site to get a vaccination without an appointment. You do not need to be registered with a GP.

Book over the phone

You can call 119 free of charge to book over the phone if you cannot book online. You can speak to a translator if you need to.

If you have difficulties communicating or hearing

You can use textphone 18001 or the NHS 119 British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter service if you have difficulties communicating or hearing, or if you are a BSL user.

More information

• Getting a COVID-19 vaccine

Page last reviewed: 15 April 2024 Next review due: 8 February 2027

Soviet Band of ‘Vigilantes’ Is a Youth Gang Known for Beating Nonconformists

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A gang of thugs was suddenly thrust into the spotlight this week when Soviet officials said gang members, who they called “vigilantes,” broke up demonstrations by dissidents.

The gang, named “Lyubers” after the Moscow suburb Lyubertsy where most of them live, roams the streets of the capital at night, beating punk rockers and other nonconformist teen-agers and robbing black marketeers.

According to press accounts, Lyubers mix Russian nationalism with right-wing philosophy, body-building and martial arts. The gang “uniform” consists of voluminous checked pants, tight white shirts and narrow black ties.

‘Vigilantes’ Blamed

On Thursday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Gennady I. Gerasimov, said “home-grown vigilantes,” apparently from the Lyubers gang, not plainclothes security agents, were responsible for roughing up demonstrators seeking emigration rights and the release of a Jewish activist from prison.

It was clear at the scene that the burly men who beat the demonstrators and some Western reporters were not teen-age thugs, but agents backed by police and the KGB secret police.

However, it was very unusual for a Soviet official to acknowledge the existence of such a gang, especially in a news briefing for Western reporters. Teen-age gangs are nothing new to Moscow, but they have rarely been given any attention in the official press.

Opposed to Hippies

The magazine Ogonyok said in a recent article that Lyubers are opposed to nonconformist youths, including hippies, punk rockers, heavy metal fans known as metallists and break dancers.

“Hippies, punks and metallists shame the Soviet way of life,” gang member Boris Taranov, 17, told Ogonyok. “We want to clean them out of the capital.”

The magazine said police know about the activities of the Lyubers but have not been able to take action “for the simple reason that hippies, punks and metallists who have suffered from the Lyubers don’t go to the police.”

The magazine said many Lyubers seem to believe in this “philosophy” but others simply use it as an excuse to beat and rob fellow Muscovites, especially black marketeers who usually carry large sums of money.

No Estimates of Size

There are no estimates on the size of the gang. A gang leader, asked by an Ogonyok reporter how many people he could assemble in a few hours, said a conservative estimate was 200.

The gang members practice boxing, wrestling, judo, karate and weightlifting in basement gymnasiums built from the proceeds of selling stolen goods, Ogonyok said.

“Lyubers practically don’t drink, they don’t smoke and as far as we know, they don’t take drugs,” reporter Vladimir Yakovlev wrote in an article for the magazine.

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