The green light for all adults to be eligible for a covid booster shot is set to be given within days as the government builds up UK defences against the Omicron variant.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he expected the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to give the go-ahead for over-18s to get the top-up shot “imminently”.
While it will take up to three weeks for scientists to establish how much the 32-mutation Omicron strain can evade jabs, it is expected that the two vaccines used in the UK booster rollout – Pfizer and Moderna – will offer some protection against the new variant.
As three cases were confirmed in the UK, concerns over Omicron triggered a surge in demand for the top-up jabs, with people queuing for up to three hours in freezing temperatures at walk-in vaccine sites yesterday.
Nearly half a million people came forward for the booster shot on Saturday, the third-highest figure during the rollout.
A total of 450,480 jabs were delivered, with even more expected to be recorded for Sunday.
At present, everyone over the age of 40 or who has an underlying health condition is eligible for a booster shot. People can book an appointment for six months after their second vaccine dose.
What do we know about the Omicron variant so far?
- The variant, first reported on by i, was identified earlier this week, and is called the ‘Omicron Variant’.
- It has an unusually high number of mutations, and scientists believe that some of those mutations are likely to increase transmissibility and vaccine resistance.
- Two cases were identified in the UK on Saturday, in Brentwood and Nottingham. Both cases are thought to be linked to travel from South Africa. A third case was identified in Westminster on Sunday, though the person is no longer in the country.
- The UK has taken the precaution of blocking flights from ten countries where the variant has been identified, including Botswana, Eswatini and South Africa.
- All international arrivals entering England must take a day 2 PCR test and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
- Face masks will be required in communal areas in secondary schools across England from Monday, and in shops and on public transport from Tuesday.
- The Prime Minister said he would also seek to speed up the booster jab programme, asking for approval to expand it to under-40s, and lowering the time between jabs.
Just minutes after the conclusion of the Prime Minister’s press conference on Saturday, the online booking system for booster doses was flooded with hundreds of people trying to book an appointment.
At one point over 1,300 people were in the queue to book their third jab. Long queues at walk-in Covid booster sites were also reported this weekend, with some patients having to wait several hours to get jabbed.
Clinics in Cambridge appear to have received a particular surge in demand this weekend, with Dr Gilly Carr, an Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge, reporting a three-hour wait.
Paul Pharoah, Professor of Cancer Epidemiology at the University of Cambridge told i he queued outside the Cambridge Guildhall walk-in centre for two hours on Sunday morning.
He estimated there were as many as 240 people in the queue. Pictures taken on Sunday afternoon showed people wrapped up in hats, scarves and winter coats as they queued to enter the site in the city centre.
Long queues were reported elsewhere at booster vaccination sites in Solihull, Herefordshire, Sheffield and London.
