How safe is the COVID-19 vaccine?

"If you are vaccinated in hospital, we will be notified directly. You do not need to inform the practice."

The vaccines approved for use in the UK have met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness set out by the independent Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

Any coronavirus vaccine that is approved must go through all the clinical trials and safety checks all other licensed medicines go through. The MHRA follows international standards of safety.

Other vaccines are being developed. They will only be available on the NHS once they have been thoroughly tested to make sure they are safe and effective.

So far, thousands of people have been given a COVID-19 vaccine and reports of serious side effects, such as allergic reactions, have been very rare. No long-term complications have been reported.

To find out more about the vaccines approved in the UK, see:

• GOV.UK: Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for COVID-19 approved by MHRA
• GOV.UK: Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 approved by MHRA
• GOV.UK: Moderna vaccine for COVID-19 approved by MHRA