COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs

Updated: 09/04/2026

COVID-19 Booster

When should I get my next COVID-19 booster?

Start date for the spring 2026 booster programme: 13 April 2026.

If you are eligible, you can be offered the booster if it is at least three months since your last COVID-19 vaccine.

You can book your COVID-19 vaccine until 30 June 2026.

How can I get a booster?

In England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland the NHS are contacting patients when it’s their turn to be vaccinated.

In England you may also be able to get a COVID-19 vaccination without an appointment by visiting a walk-in COVID-19 vaccination site. You can search online to find a site near you.

Who is eligible for a booster?

The spring 2026 booster programme is open to the following groups:

• All adults aged 75 years and over. If you will turn 75 by 30 June 2026, you can attend your vaccination when called and do not have to wait.
• People aged 6 months and over with a weakened immune system.
• Residents in care homes for older adults.

Why should I get another booster?

We encourage everyone who is eligible to take up the offer of all booster vaccines.

Boosters are given to maintain the best possible protection against COVID-19.

The protection offered by COVID-19 vaccines fades slowly over time. Booster doses help top-up the antibody levels, making sure you have the best possible protection. This means the more recently you have been vaccinated, the better protected you are.

Evidence also shows that booster doses can improve the overall response to vaccines, which can lead to an immune response happening in people who previously had no or low response to previous doses.

New variants of COVID-19 continue to develop, and although the current circulating variants are not of concern at the moment, people who are eligible are encouraged to have their COVID-19 booster as soon as possible.

How many COVID-19 vaccine doses do I need to have?

As of spring 2026, people with weakened immune systems may have been offered multiple doses of the COVID-19 since 2020, including a primary course and several booster doses.

If you have not received all vaccine doses, this does not affect how well your next vaccine or booster works.

The most important thing is to keep up to date with your boosters, so book your next dose to make sure you have the best possible protection.

Will I receive the same vaccine?

You will receive a vaccine produced to be effective against strains of COVID-19 this year.

The vaccine you will be given will depend on local supplies. Getting a vaccine quickly is much more important in terms of protecting you than which type of vaccine you get.

I think I am behind on my vaccines, what do I do?

If people are eligible, they can get a spring 2026 booster no matter where they are on the vaccine schedule.

If you are offered an appointment as part of the current booster programme by the NHS or local health board, all you need to do is book and/or attend the appointment.

You can also attend a walk-in clinic. If you choose to do this, make sure you take evidence that you have a weakened immune system with you.

If you are unsure about when you should get your next vaccine, ask your healthcare team for more information.

HDT-SCT

Will I need to be re-vaccinated after high-dose therapy and stem cell transplantation?

Advice from the British Society of Blood and Marrow Transplantation and Cellular Therapy Vaccination Sub-Committee is that patients who have received a COVID-19 vaccine before HDT-SCT should be considered non-vaccinated after their HDT-SCT and, therefore, should be re-vaccinated against COVID-19.

Re-vaccination should be considered 2–6 months following HDT-SCT.

Patients who are concerned about their vaccines should talk to their healthcare team when they get their vaccination letter. They will be able to tell you if the timing of the vaccine fits with your ongoing treatment.

Vaccine safety

How do the vaccines work?

Vaccines work by causing your body to have an immune response against a specific infection without causing the infection itself. Your body remembers this response when it comes into contact with the infection, making it easier for your body to fight it off.

The vaccines currently available in the UK for COVID-19 work in different ways.

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines are mRNA vaccines:

• A copy of a gene from the coronavirus is packaged into very small fat droplets.
• These droplets are absorbed by the body’s cells and trigger an immune response.
• The gene cannot replicate itself so it is safe for people with weakened immune systems.
• These are suitable for myeloma patients.

The Sanofi vaccine is a protein-based vaccine:

• It contains a form of the spike protein found on the surface of the COVID-19 virus.
• The immune system recognises it as foreign and triggers an immune response.
• It does not contain genetic material so it is safe for people with weakened immune systems.
• It is suitable for myeloma patients.

Can the COVID-19 vaccine cause COVID-19 infection?

No. The vaccines don’t contain any ‘live’ COVID-19 virus, therefore, you can’t develop COVID-19 from the COVID-19 vaccines.

Can the COVID-19 vaccine cause side effects?

Like all other vaccines and medicines, the COVID-19 vaccine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

Most side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine are mild and shouldn’t last longer than a week.

Common side effects include:

• Pain, tenderness, or redness where the needle went in
• Flu-like symptoms (runny nose, cough, sore throat)
• Feeling tired
• A headache
• Feeling achy
• Fever and/or chills
• Feeling or being sick

If you are concerned about any side effects, talk to your GP, haematologist or clinical nurse specialist.

Note: Patients on immunosuppressive treatment or recovering from high-dose therapy and stem cell transplantation (HDT-SCT) have a higher risk of infection (e.g. pneumonia). Some of the side effects caused by the COVID-19 vaccine are similar to signs of an underlying infection. Therefore, if you develop a high temperature and think it might be caused by an underlying infection you should contact your healthcare team.

Does the vaccine prevent transmission?

Research looking at how vaccines impact transmission rates is ongoing.

Public Health England (now part of the UK Health Security Agency) released data about the impact one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine had on transmission rates. This data showed that those who became infected with COVID-19 three weeks after receiving one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine were between 38% and 49% less likely to pass the virus on to their household contacts than those who were unvaccinated.

This suggests that the vaccines do reduce the transmission of the virus and that vaccinating carers, family and friends helps further protect myeloma patients from COVID-19.

Vaccines and myeloma

Do the COVID-19 vaccines work for myeloma patients?

The COVID-19 vaccines should give myeloma patients some protection against COVID-19.

However, we know that myeloma treatments, immune function, and pre-existing health conditions can affect how some vaccines work. Therefore, the COVID-19 vaccine may not be fully effective in patients with weakened immune systems or people having treatment that weakens the immune system. Although the vaccine might not be fully effective in some myeloma patients, it is still important to be vaccinated as it will provide some protection against severe illness due to COVID-19.

Following vaccination, patients should continue to follow infection prevention measures, such as frequent hand washing and follow any precautions advised by their doctor.

You can learn more about the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine in our video.

Is there any research showing how well the COVID-19 vaccines work for myeloma patients?

Research looking at how well COVID-19 vaccines work for myeloma patients is ongoing.  Research exploring how well myeloma patients respond to the first two doses of COVID-19 vaccines has been published.

Early studies (the Royal Marsden/Institute of Cancer Research study and the PREPARE study) suggest that 60–70% of myeloma patients respond to the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. This tells us that most myeloma patients can and do respond to COVID-19 vaccines.

The results from the second release of the PREPARE study revealed that 93% of 214 myeloma patients had an antibody response after receiving two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This indicates that at least two doses are needed to give myeloma patients protection against COVID-19.

More recent research suggests a further immune response in myeloma patients after receiving a third and fourth dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.  This data supports the benefit of booster vaccinations.

However, more research is required to understand how well patients respond to COVID-19 vaccines. To help answer these questions Myeloma UK has joined the Blood Cancer UK Vaccine Research Collaborative.

Do COVID-19 vaccines affect paraprotein or free light chain levels?

There is no evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines approved for use in the UK would cause an increase in paraprotein or free light chain levels.

The vaccines have been rigorously tested in clinical trials and scientifically evaluated for patient safety by regulatory authorities before they were approved for use.

Is one vaccine better than the other for myeloma patients?

The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) does not advise a preference for either vaccine in any specific group of people. This is because there is insufficient data to directly compare the vaccines. The clinical trials have different designs (e.g. differences in who took part, where and when they were carried out and how effectiveness was measured) and there are no clinical trials directly comparing vaccines. All approved vaccines give very high protection against severe illness due to COVID-19.

If you have more questions about COVID-19 and vaccines, get in touch with us via the Infoline on 0800 980 3332 (UK) or by emailing askthenurse@myeloma.org.uk, or talk to your clinical team who will be able to provide advice specific to your circumstances.