By Sian Baldwin

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Questions have been raised over the criteria for booking Covid jabs after it emerged that people who are not eligible have been incorrectly able to book a vaccine appointment through the NHS booking system, pharmacies have said.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said the situation has been “deeply frustrating” for both patients and pharmacists.

The eligibility criteria for the Covid-19 jab on the NHS has been tightened this year.

There has been a “significant change” in who is eligible for the vaccine this year, according to Community Pharmacy England (CPE).

This is “creating confusion” among members of the public, the body said – and sometimes leading to abusive behaviour towards pharmacy staff.

But people have been able to book in for appointments online, despite not being eligible for the vaccine, the NPA said.

If you are unsure about your eligibility, here is what to know about who should be getting the jab right now.

This winter, the Covid vaccine is available on the NHS for certain people:

The new eligibility criteria are the same across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

People outside these groups can pay for the vaccine privately.

Last year the criteria included adults aged 65 and over but this has now changed and they are not included.

The criteria for flu jabs in 2025 is larger. Groups eligible for the flu jab include:

The confusion came as the system opened with the option to book both Covid and flu vaccines at the same time via the online system.

This caused confusion and meant people were able to book a Covid jab even if they were not eligible.

Henry Gregg, chief executive of the NPA, said: “This should have been avoidable and it is deeply frustrating for both pharmacies and patients. We urge any patient in this situation to treat pharmacy teams with respect as pharmacies try to manage the new NHS clinical criteria.

“We’ve urgently raised this issue with NHS England and the Department of Health and have asked for it to be resolved as soon as possible.”