If you have diabetes, we strongly encourage you to get the coronavirus vaccine and take whichever vaccine you're offered. This is because people with diabetes are vulnerable to developing a severe illness if they do get coronavirus, and vaccines are the most effective way to prevent that from happening.
Most people with diabetes are in priority group six. If you've got a letter inviting you to book for your vaccine, you can now book online through the NHS.
Latest news about the coronavirus vaccines
We know about five vaccines so far, with two of these being used in the UK now.
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine
The first of these was developed by Pfizer/BioNTech. The results from their clinical trial showed the vaccine to be 95% effective at protecting people against developing Covid-19 after two doses, and suggested that in the period between doses it was 52% effective. This vaccine has now been approved to use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
The MHRA is responsible for making sure all medicines and medical devices used in the UK work and are safe, and have to approve any new vaccines before they can be given to members of the public in the UK.
Oxford/AstraZenca vaccine
The next vaccine the MHRA have approved for use in the UK is the Oxford/AstraZenca vaccine. Results show that this vaccine is 73% effective after the first dose. After two full doses it’s on average 70% effective, with the second dose being really important to give longer term protection.
The government is now prioritising vaccinating as many at risk people with the first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech or Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines as possible. People will get their second dose within three months of the first.
Moderna vaccine
The most recent vaccine to be approved for use in the UK has been produced by Moderna. The Moderna vaccine is 94% effective. The government have ordered 17 million doses, which will start being delivered to the UK from Spring.
Novavax vaccine
We’ve also heard results from a clinical trial of the Novavax vaccine showing it’s 89% effective at preventing Covid-19. The MHRA will now look at all the data and decide whether to approve it for use in the UK.
The UK government have pre-ordered 60 million doses of the Novavax vaccine and expect these to start being delivered in the second half of the year.
Janssen vaccine
Janssen have announced results from their clinical trial that looked at giving just one dose of their vaccine. They showed a single dose was 66% effective. The UK government has already ordered 30 million doses of the Janssen vaccine.
The MHRA will now look at all the data on the Novavax and Janssen vaccines and decide whether to approve them for use in the UK.
Although the progress is encouraging, we don’t know how long the protection from the different vaccines will last. We also don’t know how effective the vaccines will be in stopping the spread of the virus between people.
The government has also ordered vaccines from two other companies, who haven’t shared results from their trials yet. We will continue to update this page when we know more.
What the vaccines are made of
The coronavirus vaccines do not contain meat, egg or any animal products. The vaccines are halal and kosher.
There’s a very small amount of alcohol in some of the vaccines, around the same as there is in bread. We call this negligible, because it won’t have any effect on your body. The vaccines are still halal because the alcohol in them is at a concentration of much less than 1%. The alcohol is there to preserve the vaccine ingredients, to make sure it works.
The vaccines contain the blueprints for making tiny fragments of coronavirus. This triggers the immune system to react and start making antibodies that are ready to protect you if you later catch coronavirus.
Vaccines also contain other ingredients which are added to keep them stable and help them work better. Common ingredients in the coronavirus vaccines include sucrose (a type of sugar) and salt. These are added in extremely small quantities and won’t have any effect on the body.
You can find out full information on vaccine ingredients in the patient information leaflet for the vaccine when you are offered one.
Who can get the coronavirus vaccine
Everyone in the UK will be split into nine priority groups to begin with. Group one will get the vaccine first, group two will follow and so on. The government hope to be able to offer everyone in the top four priority groups their first dose by mid-February.
There may be differences in how England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland roll out the vaccine, so we will continue to update you with the latest information here.
If you feel that you should be invited to get your vaccine but haven’t been yet, speak to your GP and talk it through with them.
Priority groups:
- Elderly care home residents and their carers
- Everyone 80 years old and above, and frontline health and social care workers
- Everyone 75 years old and above
- Everyone 70 years old and above, and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals
- Everyone 65 years old and above
- People aged 16 to 64 years with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious illness or death from coronavirus. This group includes people with all types of diabetes.
- Everyone 60 years old and above
- Everyone 55 years old and above
- Everyone 50 years old and above
You can find more guidance about who should get a vaccine, and when from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisations (JCVI). JCVI estimates that the total number of people in these groups covers around 99% of those at risk of dying from coronavirus. After these nine priority groups have had the vaccine, there will be a second phase of vaccination for the rest of the population.
Children
Most children can’t have the vaccine right now. This is because coronavirus vaccines haven’t been tested in children yet and children remain at a very low risk of developing a severe illness if they catch coronavirus.
The vaccines now available may be given to children who are 16 or 17 years old if they are clinically extremely vulnerable or if they have an underlying health condition, like diabetes.
As trials with children are completed, we’ll get a better understanding of how safe and effective the different vaccines are within this age group.
If you’re pregnant
If you’re pregnant, your healthcare team should talk you through the risks and benefits of getting the vaccine. Pregnant women are not generally advised to have the vaccine, but if you have a high risk of catching coronavirus because you’re a key worker, or have an underlying condition like diabetes, the benefits may outweigh the risks.
Are the vaccines safe?
We know that some people may still be worried about how quickly the vaccines are being developed. But this has been possible because scientists, governments and industry all around the world have focused their attention on this one shared goal.
All the vaccine trials have included the usual number of participants and no stages of development and testing have been rushed or skipped. The joint worldwide effort to find a vaccine has allowed for funding and approval processes to be fast-tracked, and manufacturing to begin early. This, alongside using existing technologies in the vaccine development, is why they have been developed quicker than usual.
The MHRA will also continue to monitor the vaccines over time and make sure vaccinations follow a very high standard. And it’s also useful to know that the vaccines have been tested in men and women of different ages and ethnicities, with a range of health conditions – including diabetes.
We know from previous research that the immune response to fighting coronavirus in people with diabetes is no different to people who don’t have diabetes. So there’s no evidence to suggest that the vaccine will work less well in people with diabetes.
Vaccine side effects
Not everyone taking the vaccine will have side effects. If you do have any, they are usually very mild. They normally won’t last longer than around 48 hours.
The common side effects are:
- Your arm might feel sore where you had your vaccine.
- Feeling tired.
- Headaches.
- Aches.
- Feeling sick.
If you don’t feel well, it’s really important that you stick to any sick day rules recommended by your diabetes team.
Vaccines and blood sugar levels
Taking the vaccine may make your blood sugar levels go up.
When you get the vaccine, your body will start to produce what’s called an immune response. This is nothing to worry about. Your body is just reacting to the vaccine because the vaccine is new to you.
Your body needs energy to produce this immune response, so it may release some extra glucose (sugar). This is what leads to your blood sugar increasing.
If you’ve had an allergic reaction to vaccines
If you’ve had a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, medicine or food before, it’s safe to have any of the coronavirus vaccines unless you’re allergic to the specific vaccine ingredients.
Your GP will talk this through with you if you have a history of allergic reactions and monitor you for about 15 minutes after the jab. Speak to your healthcare team if you’re worried about this or have more questions about your previous reactions.
If you’ve had the flu jab
We know that coronavirus vaccine trials have included people who’ve also had a flu jab. Public Health England (PHE) have also said that there aren’t any safety concerns around having both vaccines.
Experts think that it’s unlikely there would be any interaction between the two vaccines that would impact on how well they work. But PHE do recommend leaving a 7-day gap between getting a flu and a coronavirus vaccine.
This would allow for any side effects you may notice, like a headache or a sore arm, to be traced back to the right vaccine. This will be important as the MHRA will continue to track the safety of coronavirus vaccines as they are introduced.
Other strains of coronavirus
It’s normal for viruses to pick up small changes over time as they’re passed on from person to person. This has been happening with coronavirus since it started spreading across the world and it does not necessarily make a virus more dangerous. The new variant identified in the UK is being studied by scientists. Evidence shows that it transmits more easily and the possibility that it causes more severe illness if you are infected is being looked into. There’s evidence that coronavirus vaccines work well against the new UK variant, which makes up most of the UK’s cases.
Some cases of a variant first found in South Africa have been discovered in the UK, but this variant isn’t as common. From studies so far, scientists think that vaccines will still protect against serious illness from this variant, but that they might not work quite as well.
A regularly mutating virus could mean that we need annual vaccines – just like what happens with the flu jab – and scientists are already working on updating coronavirus vaccines so that they give better protection against new variants. Researchers have said a vaccine designed to tackle the South African variant could be ready by the autumn if needed.
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