Booster jabs will be on offer on Christmas Day and Boxing Day as the NHS ramps up its vaccination drive in a bid to meet Boris Johnson’s target of protecting everyone eligible in England by the end of the month.
Downing Street declined to set a figure for daily jabs to hit the “challenging” goal, which will require around 1m boosters a day for the remainder of the month – almost double the current rate and well above the maximum of 752,000 achieved in March.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson confirmed that the aim was to deliver jabs to those eligible by the end of the month, amid confusion over reports that the Department of Health was guaranteeing only to offer an appointment which could take place later.
He accepted that in individual cases – such as people who are currently suffering from Covid or those who leave booking to the last minute – it may not be possible to fit in a jab before New Year’s Eve.
Some 750 troops were drafted in to help speed up the effort which must be dramatically accelerated in order to come close to the 20m vaccinations needed to meet Mr Johnson’s goal.
Servicemen and women will be deployed as vaccinators as well as assisting the NHS with planning on a national and regional level, said Downing Street.
People aged over 30 in England became eligible to book a booster vaccination from Monday morning, while those aged 18 or over were able to attend walk-in clinics to get their jabs.
Those trying to book jabs this morning were frustrated by lengthy queues on the website, though 110,000 managed to secure appointments by 9am.
In a tweet, the health service said: “The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queuing system.
“For users aged 18-29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 Dec.
“For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, orders for lateral flow tests were temporarily suspended due to what the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) described as “exceptionally high demand”.
No 10 said there was ample supply of the test kits themselves, but there were not enough mailing slots available to send them all out.
Downing Street said that there had been “some challenges” with the surge of traffic on the booking website and efforts were under way to increase capacity.
“Our booster programme has been increasing at speed,” said the PM’s spokesperson. “Vaccinations will continue to be offered throughout the Christmas period – if there is demand, on Christmas Day and Boxing Day – and we are confident the NHS will be able to match it.”
Capacity in terms of numbers of vaccinators and numbers of doses is being increased at all sites with the aim of significantly boosting vaccination rates, said the spokesperson.
But he said the authorities were not setting a daily target because of the awareness that numbers will fluctuate widely depending on factors such as the day of the week and bank holidays.
Some 600 personnel from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force have been made available to NHS England, delivering jabs in small teams across the country, and another 51 will help with planning, while more than 100 are assisting in Scotland, the Ministry of Defence said.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We have rapidly mobilised service personnel to work alongside our dedicated health services to accelerate the vaccine booster programme.
“Our armed forces will help to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible as we continue our efforts to support the UK’s response to the pandemic.”
It comes as St John Ambulance made an urgent appeal for volunteers to help the vaccination effort.
The charity’s head of community response, Adam Williams, said: “St John Ambulance recruited and trained almost 30,000 vaccination volunteers – including 20,000 vaccinators – between November and March.
“If everyone who trained to vaccinate with St John steps forward now, even for just two six-hour shifts, we will have more than enough people to do everything that’s required of us over the next few weeks and help the nation get ahead of the Omicron variant.”
Vaccination volunteers have been contacted over the last few days, with more details of how to book shifts and a message from England’s deputy chief medical officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam.
He wrote: “The vaccination programme has succeeded in achieving levels of protection previously unimaginable. It’s going to require a Herculean effort and I am asking you personally to be a part of it by undertaking vaccinator shifts as soon as you possibly can.”
The NHS in England said that the opening hours for vaccine centres will be extended with more “pop-up” sites expected.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, said: “The NHS has already stepped up to the mark and delivered the fastest and most successful vaccination programme in health service history and staff are once again doing everything possible to increase the number of appointments available every day.
“The best way to get your vaccine is by booking online or by calling 119 – please do keep checking availability as we load more appointments onto the system every day.”
