All frontline health and social care workers in England can now book their coronavirus vaccine online.

The NHS COVID-19 Vaccination Booking Service allows all eligible health and social care workers to self-refer for a vaccine appointment, regardless of whether they work in the NHS or not. This means all eligible nursing staff, including agency and temporary staff and those who work in the independent sector, will be able to book a vaccine appointment themselves.

On 1 March, the deadline for booking was extended ‘until further notice’.

As part of the booking process, staff need to self-declare they are a health or social care worker and will be required to bring proof of employment to the appointment.

The new push from government comes after the Royal College of Nursing raised concerns that key staff were slipping through the net of the vaccine programme. The college’s recent member survey showed that 70 per cent of respondents who hadn’t had, or been offered, the vaccine worked in non-NHS settings. More than two in five agency nursing staff and one in four temporary staff had not received a vaccine.