NHS gives out record 611,000 jabs in a single day after bookings open to all over-18s

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Britain’s booster jab campaign is off to a storming start with a record 611,000 Covid jabs being given out in a single day yesterday.

NHS chiefs say staff worked through a record high of 548,039 booster vaccines on Tuesday, alongside more than 60,000 first and second doses. The booster figure smashes the previous one-day record for vaccine top-ups of 483,361 – set on December 11. 

However the figure still falls well below Boris Johnson’s one million doses-a-day target needed to tackle what he described as a ‘tidal wave of Omicron’.  NHS chiefs say staff are ‘pulling out all the stops’ to accelerate the vaccine programme.

It comes as queues again formed before dawn outside vaccination centres this morning with all adults in England now being offered a Covid-19 booster from today after the NHS national booking system opened up to all over 18s.

Some vaccination centres had to stop offering walk-in boosters yesterday amid limited supply, with a volunteer-led hub in Andover, Hampshire, saying it was only able to offer first and second Pfizer vaccine doses. 

In more good news, yesterday also saw more than 630,000 booster jabs booked through the online booking service – the highest number for any Tuesday on record. Of those, 150,000 booster bookings were made before 9am this morning. 

Dr Emily Lawson, director of the NHS covid-19 vaccination programme, said: ‘NHS staff are once again pulling out all the stops to accelerate the NHS covid-19 vaccination programme, the biggest and most successful in health service history, and these figures show just how hard we are all working to get lifesaving jabs in arms.

‘We need everyone to play their part in the national mission to protect the country and the public can help by booking their jab online to avoid disappointment – just like 630,000 people did yesterday.

‘The data clearly shows that getting boosted gives maximum protection against the new variant so please book your slot online as soon as possible and guarantee your vital jab.”

Meanwhile, Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: ‘A record 548,039 booster vaccines were administered yesterday as we ramp up our vaccination programme and bolster our defences against the virus.

‘Thank you to everyone playing their part – from the 24 million people who have come forward to get boosted now, to the wonderful NHS and vaccine volunteers getting jabs in arms.

‘This is a national mission and we want to stay ahead in the race with this virus, so roll up your sleeves and get protected.’

It comes as thousands lined up to get their booster at vaccination points across the country today. The first people to join the line at St Thomas’ Hospital in London arrived at 6.14am despite the centre not opening until 8am – with the NHS racing to boost Britons as it tries to head off a ‘tidal wave’ of Omicron cases. 

People are eligible for a booster three months after their second vaccine but they can book after two months, and today marks the NHS meeting its objective of offering every eligible adult a chance to book one before 2022.  

It comes as some vaccination centres had to stop offering walk-in boosters yesterday amid limited supply, with a volunteer-led hub in Andover, Hampshire, saying it was only able to offer first and second Pfizer vaccine doses. 

However, NHS England has insisted there are ‘no supply challenges’ with booster stocks amid claims from GPs that it is the staffing of the vaccination centres that provides the bigger logistical challenge for the rollout. 

Some 24 million boosters have now been given in the UK, with 75 per cent of over-50s having received one. Health officials said they will offer boosters at ‘extreme speed’ after the need for staff to monitor patients for 15 minutes post-jab was scrapped – and it emerged 513,722 people in the UK received a third shot on Monday.

More Covid vaccines were given in England than on any Monday so far – and the enthusiasm continued yesterday as people once again queued for hours outside vaccine centres and more than 493,000 booked online.

The booking system for boosters today opened to all adults for the first time, having previously been limited to those aged over-30 since Monday, which is expected to lead to a further surge in visits to the NHS website.

The system has introduced virtual queues and crashed under the pressure on Monday, although it appeared to be working fine this morning with visitors placed in a queue which lasted less than five minutes. 

It comes after Professor Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the Covid-19 panel of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said that it was important to give the booster before the Omicron wave comes.

He told the Science and Technology Committee of MPs yesterday: ‘You want to give the booster before the wave comes, there is less benefit in giving a booster in the middle of a wave or after a wave.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced in a TV address to millions of Britons on Sunday evening that all adults will be offered a Covid booster by the end of the year in a bid to overcome the Omicron variant.

Fears that the new strain may be more infectious has seen people rush to be vaccinated, with a 650 metre-long queue snaking around a vaccine centre in Bristol yesterday.

The queue for walk-in jabs at the Centre Court Shopping Centre in Wimbledon, south-west London, was looping around the entire top floor and back to the entrance by 8.30am.

People are usually asked to wait for 15 minutes after receiving the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine – the UK’s main booster jabs – so medics are on hand if they have an allergic reaction.

But some doctors have complained that the requirement can ‘reduce the efficiency’ of vaccination centres by limiting how many people can pass through each day.

The UK’s four chief medical officers yesterday recommended the waiting period should be temporarily suspended so more people can be vaccinated faster.

They concluded that the ‘probability of harm through delay is substantially in excess of the probability of benefit from maintaining 15-minute waits under the current situation’.

Modelling by the NHS suggests the change in policy – for first, second and third doses – could improve efficiency by almost a third.

The CMOs said the long-term decision on the waiting period – ‘when the need for extreme speed of vaccination and boosting is over’ – should rest with the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

They said that the move would be a ‘temporary measure on the grounds of public health need to protect as many citizens as possible over a short period of time’.

Those who have a history of allergies, particularly to other vaccines, or have had an immediate reaction after a previous doses, may still be advised to stay for the 15 minutes. The wait time was introduced after two NHS staff suffered allergic reactions on the first day of the vaccine rollout last year.

Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UKHSA, said: ‘The removal of the 15-minute wait will help streamline the process at vaccine centres, and we have updated our guidance to facilitate this.’

Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy for the NHS vaccination programme, added: ‘The updated CMO advice to temporarily suspend the 15-minute wait, where safe and appropriate, will be particularly helpful for smaller vaccination sites, helping get more people protected as quickly as possible.’

So far 17 people in the UK have had anaphylactic reactions during the 15 minute observation period but none have been fatal.

Analysis by NHS England suggests the new guidance will allow 500,000 more people to get a booster jab in the ‘initial period’ but they were last night unable to say what that period is.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said that Boris Johnson wanted to thank those who had ‘queued for hours to get their jabs yesterday’.

He added: ‘We want to go further and faster and we will continue to do that as we expand.

‘You’ll have seen that the 15-minute wait has been temporarily paused by the UK chief medical officers, that will allow for significantly more people to go through those vaccination sites.

‘It’s something that will be very beneficial on the ground and I’ll stress that that’s been done on clinical advice and safety continues to be our top priority.’

The NHS is working to increase capacity by extending hours at existing centres and opening walk-in clinic at the likes of Chester Cathedral and Wembley Stadium.

Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab acknowledged ‘teething problems’ after people queued for hours to get coronavirus vaccines.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘I appreciate there have been some teething problems as we ramp this up, it does take a few days just to make sure we get to a steady state. We’ll keep straining every sinew to make sure we can reach that target.’

Dr Lawson said: ‘The NHS experienced its busiest Monday ever for vaccinations since the rollout began in December last year and an incredible 418,000 boosters were delivered yesterday alone, with 185,000 of these delivered by community pharmacies – a remarkable achievement.’

More than 3 million booster and third doses of Covid vaccine have been delivered across the UK in the past week, the highest number for any seven-day period since the rollout of extra doses began.

The figures, from the four UK health agencies, also show that more than 24 million extra doses have now been delivered in the UK.

Meanwhile Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, last night urged the public to get their booster in a new TV advert.

He told viewers: ‘There is a new variant of Covid-19 – Omicron – which is highly infectious and spreading fast. Every adult in the country needs to get a Covid-19 booster vaccine.

‘Boosters give you the best possible protection against the virus and should significantly reduce your risk of serious illness and hospitalisation.

‘Get your Covid-19 booster vaccine to strengthen your protection. Please, get boosted now.’

Meanwhile Mr Johnson has thanked NHS workers for their ‘incredible efforts’ in a letter and called for their help in delivering the ‘biggest, fastest vaccination drive this country has ever seen’.

In the letter, published on Twitter, the Prime Minister wrote that ‘evidence suggests that two vaccine jabs do not provide enough protection.

‘I therefore need to call on your help and assistance to deliver the biggest, fastest vaccination drive this country has ever seen… ‘I know this will not be easy. I know that you are tired and weary.

‘But you know how critical it is that we get Britain boosted, and fast.’ He added: ‘For our part, I can assure you that this Government will do whatever it takes to give you the support you need, and that the whole nation is right behind you, willing you to succeed.’