Since being told “you must stay at home” in March 2020, the road back to normality has been a long one, full of small incremental steps. Some of these steps have seen the most onerous of the restrictions be lifted, but the most significant steps have been developments with the vaccines - trials showing safety and efficacy; the approval of them for use in the United Kingdom; and seeing our older relatives get theirs. Now, at long last, it is nearly the turn of the 18-29 year old category to get our jabs.

To aid in the rollout of the vaccine to 18-29 year olds, the Scottish Government is asking that people register at https://register.vacs.nhs.scot. While it may be a few weeks until your appointment, registering ensures that you are in the queue and can find out as soon as your appointment is allocated. Registering also means that you’ll be notified of your appointment by email or text message, rather than the standard blue letters that have been dropping through doors since January. If you’ll be spending summer away from where you are registered with a GP, or if you can’t remember if you updated your address with your GP the last time you moved, registering gives you the peace of mind that you’ll get your appointment as soon as its allocated and that it will be near to where you are currently living.

How do I register?

Registering is fast and simple. You can register online at https://register.vacs.nhs.scot, where all you need to do is check you meet the criteria of being registered with a GP surgery in Scotland; being 18 to 29 years old; not having already been vaccinated. 

The registration form simply asks for your date of birth, your name and address, and your contact details. All of this is so it can match you to your GP surgery records and provide you with an appointment in the right place.

What happens after I register?

You should get a text message or email shortly after confirming your information to let you know they’ve successfully matched your records. This means that you’re in the system and in the queue for a vaccine appointment.

Once appointments are available for your age group in your location, you will get a second email letting you know the date, time, and location of your appointment. If you  can’t make the slot you’ve been given, you can log in to the online system (the details will be in your offer email) to change the date, time, or location to make it more convenient. If you can make the slot you’ve been offered though, all you need to do is show up and get your jab.

When do I need to register by?

The online registration service will close on the 11th June. If you forget to sign up though, you will still be offered the vaccine when it is your turn, you will just receive your invitation by letter to the address you are registered with a GP at, rather than by email or text.

If you later think that you have not received your appointment by the time you should have, you can fill out the missing appointments form at https://invitations.vacs.nhs.scot and have it followed up and a new appointment allocated.

Is the vaccine safe?

Yes. All of the vaccines used in the United Kingdom have been rigorously tested for safety and efficacy and assessed by our national regulator (and the regulators of multiple other nations) prior to use. These tests have found that the vaccines are both safe and effective, and they have been through the same process as every other vaccine, such as the childhood inoculations and flu vaccines.  

Across the United Kingdom, nearly 40 million people have been vaccinated already, further highlighting the safety of the vaccine. 

Should I be worried about blood-clots?

Not particularly. The news about blood-clots referred to a correlation between people who had received the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and a very small number of people developing blood-clots. This was lower than the risk of blood-clots from many other standard activities, such as flying on a plane or taking the contraceptive pill. It is not known if the vaccine caused these blood-clots, but out of an abundance of caution, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will not typically be offered to anybody under the age of 40.

People under the age of 40 will most commonly be offered the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, which have no link to the reports of blood-clots from the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, and which use a different method to create immunity.

If you have any specific concerns about taking the vaccine due to health conditions, please speak to a medical professional who will be able to best advise on the specifics of your case.