Overview

• The NHS autumn Covid offer now covers adults aged 75 and over, residents of older-adult care homes, and people with weakened immune systems aged six months and over.
• About 13 million people who qualified last autumn are now excluded, including roughly 9.4 million aged 65 to 74.
• The NHS booking system has allowed some ineligible people to schedule Covid appointments, and pharmacies report turning away between a third and a half of arrivals.
• Confusion has been heightened by broader free flu eligibility for over‑65s and combined booking options, with pharmacy bodies reporting patient frustration and abuse toward staff.
• NHS England updated website wording and urged people to check eligibility, while private demand has jumped, with Pharmadoctor expecting October bookings to be more than triple last year and prices reported up to about £100.