Donald Emmanuel, 60, from Coventry, said he was not sure if he was eligible for the Covid vaccine after being invited to book his winter jabs on the NHS.
“I probably won’t get the Covid because it was difficult to decide what the new criteria was,” he said.
“So I thought I might as well put myself down for it, even if I don’t, hopefully the people doing the job know whether I do qualify or don’t qualify.”
The changes to eligibility were made on the advice of a group of independent experts called the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which said Covid was now a “relatively mild disease for most people”.
Last year the jab was offered for free to anyone 65 years old and over and those with a long list of chronic or long-term conditions.
That has been changed with the age limit raised to all those who turn 75 before January 2026, plus older care homes residents and people classed as immunosuppressed.
That includes those undergoing some cancer treatment and transplant patients, along with those living with HIV and some genetic disorders.
But it means many people with conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, asthma and severe mental illness no longer qualify.