Use this API standard to understand what information you must provide to us at NHS Digital on adverse reactions relating to coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccinations.

This API standard specifies the flow of information relating to vaccination-related adverse reaction activity from any healthcare setting including:

• hospital hubs - NHS providers vaccinating on site 

• local vaccine services – community or primary care led services which could include primary care facilities, retail, community facilities, temporary structures or roving teams 

• vaccination centres – large sites such as sports and conference venues set up for high volumes of people 

This standard specifies the structure and content of the delimited file to send us.

For FHIR standards relating to the flow of information directly back to the patient's GP, see Digital Medicine API standards.

Regulatory reporting

This information flow captures any adverse reactions which occur within the first fifteen minutes after administration of the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination. 

At NHS Digital, we must share this information with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Yellow Card scheme. This scheme is the UK system for collecting and monitoring information on suspected safety concerns or incidents involving medicines and medical devices, including vaccines. 

The information we share with MHRA as part of this scheme is anonymised.