NHS raises alert to HIGHEST level as UK Omicron cases jump 50% in 24 hours to almost 5,000 and Boris confirms first death with mutant strain — but overall daily Covid infections rise just 6% to 54,661 as booster drive descends into chaos on first day
The entire NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March today after the UK's Omicron outbreak surged by 50 per cent in a day and the first death with the mutant strain was confirmed — as No10's turbocharged booster vaccine rollout was plagued with issues on its first day.
Health service bosses have raised the alert to level four meaning they believe there is a real threat that an influx of Covid patients could start to force the closure of other vital services.
The move comes as the NHS was told to put non-urgent care on the backburner once again and lead the country's mammoth Omicron-busting booster vaccine drive which aims to offer all 53million adults a third dose by the end of January — a goal that would require the programme doubling its current daily rate.
It came as officials confirmed another 1,576 cases of the highly-evolved Omicron variant over the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 4,713 — however this is believed to be a vast underestimate with the true number several times greater because not all positive tests are analysed for variants.
Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, said the best estimate was that there are currently 200,000 overall daily infections across the country, with Omicron expected to become dominant in London by tomorrow and nationally within days.
Yet, the Department of Health's daily update revealed that there were only 54,661 overall Covid cases in the past 24 hours, marking a rise of just 6 per cent week-on-week. No10's scientific advisers have warned this could rise to an astronomical 1million per day by the end of the month if Omicron continues to spread at its current pace. The DOH also recorded another 926 daily hospital admissions, up 14 per cent in a week, and 38 deaths, down 7 per cent.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister today revealed that at least one patient has died with the Omicron variant as he warned it was now leading to hospitalisations, and that the 'best thing' people could do was get a booster.
Mr Johnson warned against being complacent about Omicron, despite reports in South Africa that it is milder than Delta. The PM did not reveal the age of the person who died, or if they had underlying health conditions, which made them vulnerable or whether Omicron was the leading cause of their death or a secondary factor.
The death in the UK is thought to be the first confirmed Omicron fatality in the world. However, given the variant makes up almost every case in South Africa it is likely that the vast majority of fatalities there are due to the mutant strain but a lack of testing means these are not picked up.
Health bosses today also revealed that 10 Britons have already been hospitalised with Omicron. But the UK Health Security Agency, which confirmed all were aged between 18-85 and most had been fully vaccinated, refused to say if any had already had a booster.
It came as vital stocks of lateral flow tests ran out. A message on the Government website said there are 'no more home test kits available right now' and told Britons to 'try again later'. Officials insisted there was no shortage but 'exceptionally high' demand meant they'd stopped taking new orders. Kits could still be picked up from community sites including pharmacies, schools and colleges, and PCR swabs are available, the Government said.
As the booster drive descended into chaos:
- Britain has suffered its first death from Omicron, the Prime Minister revealed on a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington;
- GPs fumed they found out about the jabbing goal at the same time as the rest of the nation, and NHS bosses warned it would take ‘time’ to get the scaled up programme ‘fully up and running’;
- Former Cabinet minister David Davis and Labour MPs slammed the Government for failing to ramp up the booster drive in September, and warned the 'vaccine wall of defence was crumbling';
- Health Secretary Sajid Javid said that patients waiting for elective surgery such as hip replacements could see their treatment postponed as the NHS races to roll out a million jabs a day. He promised, however, that critical care for cancer patients would be unaffected;
- Both Scotland and Wales dangled the possibility of having to impose tougher restrictions as Boris Johnson failed to rule out more measures for England.
The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant
Pictured above is the current pace of the booster programme (green bars) and how it will have to ramp up to hit the million jabs a day target (red bars). NHS bosses warn scaling up the programme will be 'incredibly difficult'
The entire NHS England was put on the highest level of alert for the first time since March on the back of the development. Level four means health bosses believe there is a real threat that an expected influx of Covid patients could start to force the closure of other vital services
LONDON: Hundreds were pictured queuing outside St Thomas' hospital for Covid boosters today after Boris Johnson told al over-18s to get the top-up jab before the New Year
The Prime Minister told the country last night that a wave of Omicron 'is coming' as he ramped up the booster drive to meet his target of delivering a million jabs a day. The PM is pictured above at a vaccination centre in Westminster, London
The UK Government has now run out of lateral flows. From tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of Covid cases are required to test themselves every day for ten days. Experts have also been calling on Brits to test themselves regularly in the run up to Christmas
NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again later today or tomorrow
This graph shows how many vaccination centres were open in April during the first drive, compared to the numbers involved in the booster roll-out. It reveals there are fewer mass vaccination centres now than previously
According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a booster
LONDON: Hundreds were pictured queuing outside St Thomas' hospital for Covid boosters today after Boris Johnson told al over-18s to get the top-up jab before the New Year
The Prime Minister told the country last night that a wave of Omicron 'is coming' as he ramped up the booster drive to meet his target of delivering a million jabs a day. The PM is pictured above at a vaccination centre in Westminster, London
The UK Government has now run out of lateral flows. From tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of Covid cases are required to test themselves every day for ten days. Experts have also been calling on Brits to test themselves regularly in the run up to Christmas
NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again later today or tomorrow
This graph shows how many vaccination centres were open in April during the first drive, compared to the numbers involved in the booster roll-out. It reveals there are fewer mass vaccination centres now than previously
According to NHS data, many older age groups who have been eligible to get a Covid booster since September still have double digit percentage figures of people who are yet to get a third dose. Yesterday, the NHS online booking system for Covid boosters was opened up to the over 40s. 81 per cent of people aged 40-to-49 have yet to have a boosterFrom tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of a Covid case will be asked to swab themselves once a day instead of having to isolate. And from Wednesday, pending the move being voted in by MPs, people heading to night clubs and large events will need to show a negative result if they are not double-jabbed.
Leading experts have urged people to test themselves repeatedly in the run up to Christmas, and keep their social contacts to a minimum to avoid catching Covid.
In another sign of chaos, Britons desperate to get their top-up doses were left standing in up to five-hour queues as centres warned they were already running low on doses this morning. Twenty-somethings were turned away in confusion at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium as they tried to get booster jabs.
Meanwhile, the NHS booking system crashed as thousands tried to secure a booster, with health service bosses urging people to 'try again tomorrow'.
And Britons struggled to get a booster appointment near their home with people in York told to travel 31 miles to a centre in Doncaster, and a 37-year-old in Bicester, Oxfordshire, saying their nearest clinic was 26 miles away.
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Now NHS tells people to STOP trying to book a booster jab online
NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today.
Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday – but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today.
Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.'
And the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.'
The booster expansion plan is expected to focus on walk-ins rather than online bookings – and those trying to get an appointment on the website face having to wait until after Christmas, insiders told Politico's London Playbook.
Meanwhile long lines of people waited outside pharmacies, hospitals and temporary vaccine sites across the UK this morning, with particularly big queues seen at St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London.
It comes after the Prime Minister confirmed in a televised statement last night that he had turbocharged the booster programme, as the deadline to offer all adults a third jab is being brought forward by a month.
The Army will be drafted in and clinic hours extended to help dose 18million people by January 1 - nearly a million a day - as the PM warned of a 'tidal wave' of Covid that could overwhelm the NHS and cause 'very many deaths'.
Mr Johnson said the 'Omicron emergency' meant boosters were vital to 'protect our freedoms and our way of life'. Within minutes of his announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to secure appointments.
Britons trying to book their booster jab this morning have been greeted with this message on the NHS website today
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has promised to 'throw everything' at the Covid booster drive, which is aiming to jab all over-18s for the third time by the New Year. To achieve this, some elective surgery such as hip replacements will have to be postponed.
But NHS bosses warn that scaling up the booster programme now will be ‘incredibly difficult’ and inevitably have ‘consequences’, with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations. Mr Javid promised, however, that cancer patients will be unaffected.
In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year’s Day as he warned the country: ‘There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.’
Some 750 Armed Forces personnel and thousands of extra volunteers will be drafted in to achieve the target, and clinic hours extended to help dish out up to 20million jabs over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
The drive will also see 42 military planning teams across every region, additional vaccine sites and mobile units, an extension of opening hours for clinics so they run seven days a week and thousands of extra volunteer vaccinators trained.
But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson’s 8pm televised announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS’s vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.
Mr Johnson today repeatedly refused to rule out more Covid rules to combat Omicron. Both Scotland and Wales have already dangled the possibility of stricter controls.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, West London, Mr Johnson said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.
'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.'
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'.
He tweeted: 'The awful news of the UK's first Omicron death underlines the seriousness of the situation and my heart goes out to their family and friends.
'This is why the booster rollout is so vital and public health measures are necessary to reduce its spread.'
Earlier, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed that at least 10 people have been admitted to hospitalised with Omicron in England and more in Scotland.
The shortage of lateral flow tests was triggered by 'exceptionally high demand', the UK Health Security Agency said today.
A spokesman said orders were 'temporarily suspended' while kits were supplied to people who had already requested one.
They added: 'Everyone who needs a lateral flow test can collect test kits — either at their local pharmacy, some community sites and some schools and colleges.'
Mr Streeting also blasted the shortage as a 'total shambles', saying they had been repeatedly told there were 'plenty of tests available'.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Government had been 'reckless' not to secure enough lateral flow tests for the run-up to Christmas.
The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Covid, Layla Moran, said the failures added 'weight to the accusations that last night's announcement was all about politics but lacked the necessary plan or preparation from the Government, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces yet again.'
People are being encouraged to take the tests regularly in the run-up to Christmas, to help ensure they don't spread the virus when they return home for the festive season.
The Health Secretary said today that everyone should take a lateral flow test before meeting loved ones for Christmas Day.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, said people need to take action themselves to prevent transmission.
Having less contact with other people, taking lateral flow tests before meeting anyone, working from home, wearing a face covering, keeping areas well ventilated, getting vaccinated and having the booster jab are all measures people can take, she said.
Britain recorded another 1,576 Omicron cases today — an increase of 33 per cent in a day. It was the highest daily rise recorded so far, with the total number of known cases now sitting close to 4,800.
In his speech last night, the PM urged people to 'get boosted now' and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant' and 'we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe'.
But people are struggling to get doses with queues forming outside The Hawks Centre in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, almost an hour before the clinic opened.
Mother-of-three Sarah Wheal said she had wanted to get a booster but had not been eligible because she was under-40. The Prime Minister’s TV address had spurred her into action with anyone aged 18 and over eligible.
'After watching TV, I decided to come down here and get the jab’, said the 37 year old. ‘I think a lot of people will be panicked into getting the booster from hearing what’s in the way. Now that it has been opened up to under-40s lots more will come here.’
Alex, 39, an actuary from nearby Surbiton, said: ‘I had been waiting for an appointment as I’m not 40 until early next year. When I heard it was now open to anyone under 40 I decided to try my luck.
‘We have been told it’s a two hour wait and as I’m flexible with my work that’s no problem.
‘I didn’t watch Boris as I’m not really a fan of his, but obviously read later about the opening up of the vaccinations to anyone under 40.’ From tomorrow, vaccinated people who are close contacts of a Covid case will be asked to swab themselves once a day instead of having to isolate. And from Wednesday, pending the move being voted in by MPs, people heading to night clubs and large events will need to show a negative result if they are not double-jabbed.
Leading experts have urged people to test themselves repeatedly in the run up to Christmas, and keep their social contacts to a minimum to avoid catching Covid.
In another sign of chaos, Britons desperate to get their top-up doses were left standing in up to five-hour queues as centres warned they were already running low on doses this morning. Twenty-somethings were turned away in confusion at Manchester City's Etihad Stadium as they tried to get booster jabs.
Meanwhile, the NHS booking system crashed as thousands tried to secure a booster, with health service bosses urging people to 'try again tomorrow'.
And Britons struggled to get a booster appointment near their home with people in York told to travel 31 miles to a centre in Doncaster, and a 37-year-old in Bicester, Oxfordshire, saying their nearest clinic was 26 miles away.
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Now NHS tells people to STOP trying to book a booster jab online
NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country.
Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today.
Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday – but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today.
Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. We are working to resolve these issues. Thank you for your patience.'
And the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.'
The booster expansion plan is expected to focus on walk-ins rather than online bookings – and those trying to get an appointment on the website face having to wait until after Christmas, insiders told Politico's London Playbook.
Meanwhile long lines of people waited outside pharmacies, hospitals and temporary vaccine sites across the UK this morning, with particularly big queues seen at St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London.
It comes after the Prime Minister confirmed in a televised statement last night that he had turbocharged the booster programme, as the deadline to offer all adults a third jab is being brought forward by a month.
The Army will be drafted in and clinic hours extended to help dose 18million people by January 1 - nearly a million a day - as the PM warned of a 'tidal wave' of Covid that could overwhelm the NHS and cause 'very many deaths'.
Mr Johnson said the 'Omicron emergency' meant boosters were vital to 'protect our freedoms and our way of life'. Within minutes of his announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to secure appointments.
Britons trying to book their booster jab this morning have been greeted with this message on the NHS website today
Health Secretary Sajid Javid has promised to 'throw everything' at the Covid booster drive, which is aiming to jab all over-18s for the third time by the New Year. To achieve this, some elective surgery such as hip replacements will have to be postponed.
But NHS bosses warn that scaling up the booster programme now will be ‘incredibly difficult’ and inevitably have ‘consequences’, with patients once again facing the threat of cancelled operations. Mr Javid promised, however, that cancer patients will be unaffected.
In a massively ambitious move last night, the Prime Minister brought forward the deadline to offer all over-18s a third jab by New Year’s Day as he warned the country: ‘There is a tidal wave of Omicron coming.’
Some 750 Armed Forces personnel and thousands of extra volunteers will be drafted in to achieve the target, and clinic hours extended to help dish out up to 20million jabs over the next two-and-a-half weeks.
The drive will also see 42 military planning teams across every region, additional vaccine sites and mobile units, an extension of opening hours for clinics so they run seven days a week and thousands of extra volunteer vaccinators trained.
But concerns about whether the Government could even hit the goal were raised almost immediately after Mr Johnson’s 8pm televised announcement last night. Even at the height of the NHS’s vaccine drive in March, the health service never managed more than 850,000 jabs a day.
Mr Johnson today repeatedly refused to rule out more Covid rules to combat Omicron. Both Scotland and Wales have already dangled the possibility of stricter controls.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic in Paddington, West London, Mr Johnson said: 'Sadly yes Omicron is producing hospitalisations and sadly at least one patient has been confirmed to have died with Omicron.
'So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that's something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.'
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said the news underlined 'the seriousness of the situation'.
He tweeted: 'The awful news of the UK's first Omicron death underlines the seriousness of the situation and my heart goes out to their family and friends.
'This is why the booster rollout is so vital and public health measures are necessary to reduce its spread.'
Earlier, the Health Secretary Sajid Javid revealed that at least 10 people have been admitted to hospitalised with Omicron in England and more in Scotland.
The shortage of lateral flow tests was triggered by 'exceptionally high demand', the UK Health Security Agency said today.
A spokesman said orders were 'temporarily suspended' while kits were supplied to people who had already requested one.
They added: 'Everyone who needs a lateral flow test can collect test kits — either at their local pharmacy, some community sites and some schools and colleges.'
Mr Streeting also blasted the shortage as a 'total shambles', saying they had been repeatedly told there were 'plenty of tests available'.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the Government had been 'reckless' not to secure enough lateral flow tests for the run-up to Christmas.
The chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Covid, Layla Moran, said the failures added 'weight to the accusations that last night's announcement was all about politics but lacked the necessary plan or preparation from the Government, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces yet again.'
People are being encouraged to take the tests regularly in the run-up to Christmas, to help ensure they don't spread the virus when they return home for the festive season.
The Health Secretary said today that everyone should take a lateral flow test before meeting loved ones for Christmas Day.
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, said people need to take action themselves to prevent transmission.
Having less contact with other people, taking lateral flow tests before meeting anyone, working from home, wearing a face covering, keeping areas well ventilated, getting vaccinated and having the booster jab are all measures people can take, she said.
Britain recorded another 1,576 Omicron cases today — an increase of 33 per cent in a day. It was the highest daily rise recorded so far, with the total number of known cases now sitting close to 4,800.
In his speech last night, the PM urged people to 'get boosted now' and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant' and 'we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe'.
But people are struggling to get doses with queues forming outside The Hawks Centre in Kingston upon Thames, Surrey, almost an hour before the clinic opened.
Mother-of-three Sarah Wheal said she had wanted to get a booster but had not been eligible because she was under-40. The Prime Minister’s TV address had spurred her into action with anyone aged 18 and over eligible.
'After watching TV, I decided to come down here and get the jab’, said the 37 year old. ‘I think a lot of people will be panicked into getting the booster from hearing what’s in the way. Now that it has been opened up to under-40s lots more will come here.’
Alex, 39, an actuary from nearby Surbiton, said: ‘I had been waiting for an appointment as I’m not 40 until early next year. When I heard it was now open to anyone under 40 I decided to try my luck.
‘We have been told it’s a two hour wait and as I’m flexible with my work that’s no problem.
‘I didn’t watch Boris as I’m not really a fan of his, but obviously read later about the opening up of the vaccinations to anyone under 40.’ London to get the shot
Figures show that a total of 23,124,829 - 40.2 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the UK - have now received a booster jab but the rollout will now need to rapidly increase in order to meet the target
It means that everyone eligible aged 18 and over will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year, with Mr Johnson urging people to 'get boosted now'Two stewards in high viz jackets marshalled those queuing into an orderly line as it snaked out of the entrance to the Hawks Clinic and along the pavement. Most people in the queue wore a mask. Those with scheduled appointments at the clinic were lined up in a separate queue.
Former MP Ben Howlett warned vaccination centres in central London already appeared to be running out of doses. He tweeted: 'It's 8.30am — the walk-in centre has been open for exactly 30minutes and someone has already come out to say that they may not have enough doses of vaccine today?!'
And Britons faced a five-hour queue for booster shots at St Thomas' hospital, Westminster, after officials reportedly assigned only four staff members to rolling out the jabs. The hospital has said everyone in the queue will get a vaccine today.
There were reports of queues at vaccination centres dotted across the country, including in Kidlington, Belfast, Manchester and parts of London.
Younger people were also turned away in the confusion as they tried to get booster jabs. Staff at the Manchester City's Etihad Stadium allowed those in their 20s in while others were declined.
Shop worker Natasha Brown, 26, said: 'I had to wait for nearly an hour but I got mine. My younger sister came first thing as she was turned away as they said she was too young. It all seems very muddled. It seems ridiculous after Boris told people to turn up.'
Thousands queued to book their top-up doses on the NHS website today on the first day that 30 to 39-year-olds became eligible, leading the website to crash.
In a tweet, the NHS 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.'
Britons have also told how they are being asked to travel miles to get a booster jab, despite another centre being nearer to their home.
One tweeted today that 'York's nearest Covid jab walk-in is 31 miles away in Doncaster' — a claim that has been verified by MailOnline.
Another said: 'Well done Boris Johnson, everyone is panicking now and trying to book their booster jab and the website says I am in a queue and the nearest walk-in centre is 20 miles away. Merry Christmas, enjoy your party!'
And a third tweeted: 'Just tried booking my booster jab. I've been over 6,500th in the queue twice. I finally got through, clicked yes to knowing my NHS number and it put me back to 8,000th in the queue. Just had a look at my closest walk in centre which is 15 miles away apparently. Exploding head.’
Mr Javid has promised to 'throw everything' at the booster programme.
He told BBC Breakfast: 'We’re going to throw everything at it. What we’ve learnt about this new variant, Omicron, in the past week is, first of all, it’s spreading at a phenomenal rate.
'The number of infections is doubling every two or three days, there’s going to be a tidal wave of infection. The second thing we’ve learnt in the past week is that two doses of the vaccine are not enough, but three doses – with a booster shot – is.'
Ministers and NHS workers have also questioned why the booster drive was not ramped up earlier, to avoid a mad scramble before Christmas.
Former Brexit Secretary Mr Davis told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'We were always going to face a challenge [this winter], and if you ask the NHS how much of a challenge can we face they say very little.
'So, why didn't we do all this in September?'
'What actually happened from my memory was that the rate dropped to about 58,000 a day.'
He added: 'The first time I heard a million jabs a day phrase was in September and, actually, that was the right time.
'If you look at it, we don't have to guess anymore, look at last year the Covid infection rate took off in late September, and deaths took off in late October. All respiratory diseases get worse in the winter.
'Why weren't we doing this earlier? If this was so important, why weren't we doing this in September?'
The vaccination drive fell below 100,000 doses a day in September, with just 45,500 given out on its worst day towards the end of the month according to official figures. 
The NHS waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England has reached 5.83million, official data reveals marking the eleventh month in a row that the figure has hit a record high. Some 1.6million more Britons were waiting for elective surgery — such as hip and keen operations — at the end of September compared to the start of the pandemic
Britain's top vaccination committee recommended boosters for over-50s and the clinically vulnerable in mid-September.
But it took more than a month for the drive to start dishing out more than 300,000 doses a day. Many elderly people also complained they could not find out where to get their top-ups.
It is currently administering 400,000 doses a day. This is a record high but not even half of the Prime Minister's target.
Blasting ministers for failing to roll out booster jabs earlier, Mr Ashworth said: 'Sajid Javid [is] right to push everyone to get a booster.
'But for weeks we've been warning the vaccine wall of defence was crumbling.
'We're behind on boosters, some areas behind on second jabs and childrens rates too low.'
Oxford University's director of the centre for evidence-based medicine Professor Carl Heneghan warned Britain won't be able to 'turn off' healthcare every year to roll out boosters.
But that the NHS was 'setting up a strategy very much like influenza (annual vaccines)'.
He added: 'What we can't do each year is stop healthcare, switch it off and replace it with a vaccine system that says "for the next month, we're switching off healthcare".'
He warned the NHS needs about 20 per cent more beds to be able to handle admissions.
'What happens is we get to this point in time, the NHS keeps saying it’s overwhelmed, we’ll be in the same position next year, we only have about 100,000 beds for 57million people in England, it is insufficient at this time of year.
'So we have to bring in rules and regulations because we’re not properly preparing.
'And until we do that, until we realise we need to be flexible, we’ll end up in this bind. And if we’re not careful, we’ll be back talking about this next year, when we’re talking about the NHS being overwhelmed again.'
Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme why the Government hadn't tried to ramp up the booster drive earlier, Mr Javid said: 'This is not an easy decision to make.
'It does mean that when it comes to primary care for the next couple of weeks, that our GPs will only be focusing on urgent needs and vaccinations. And it also means that non urgent appointments and elective surgeries may have to be postponed into the new year.'
The Health Secretary said people with urgent appointments — like cancer patients — won't be affected by the 'new mission', but that those waiting for elective surgery — such as hip replacements — will need to wait a little longer while others are inoculated.
Explaining which care will be affected by the ramped up drive, he said: 'It will be anyone who's got some elective surgery planned, for example, that can be postponed until the new year.
'So that might mean for example, it might be a knee operation or hip operation or something that sadly someone has probably been waiting for a long time in any case, but the hospital concerned would have the right to postpone it if it meant they would get a lot more booster jobs done.
'[But] let me be clear, these decisions are not easy, but there's only at any one time there's only limited capacity in the NHS.'
Asked whether people would die because of a lack of elective care, Mr Javid responded: 'What will lead to real harm is if we don't do this, these are all health measures, whether it's vaccination or whether it's changes to you postponing certain elective surgeries, these are all health decisions.
'And if we don't do this, think about the harm of that.'
The NHS waiting list for elective surgery has already snowballed to 5.83million patients, including 10,000 who have spent two years on the list.
The PM said the data was now clear that two doses of the vaccine are 'simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need' but the 'good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose – a booster dose – we can all bring our level of protection back up'.
He said this will require 'an extraordinary effort' as he revealed some medical appointments will have to be postponed until 2022 so that clinicians can commit to administering jabs.
Mr Johnson said 'every adult over 18 who has had a second dose of the vaccine at least three months ago' will be eligible for a jab from tomorrow.
Figures show that a total of 23,124,829 - 40.2 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the UK - have now received a booster jab but the rollout will now need to rapidly increase in order to meet the target.
Approximately 20million people are likely to be eligible for the booster under the criteria which means the rollout will need to administer around one million jabs a day to hit the PM's goal.
The formal NHS Booking System will be open to the younger age groups from Wednesday but Mr Johnson said 'in some places you can walk in from tomorrow'.
In his address the Prime Minister said: 'Over the past year we have shown that vaccination is the key to beating Covid and that it works
'The UK was the first country in the world to administer a vaccine, we delivered the fastest rollout in Europe and we begun the fastest booster campaign too with over half-a-million jabs delivered yesterday alone.
'These achievements made possible by the extraordinary efforts of our NHS, including thousands of GPs and volunteer vaccinators have literally saved countless lives and livelihoods in this country.
'But I need to speak to you this evening because I'm afraid we're now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron and we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe. '
Mr Johnson went on to say that that UK's four chief medical officers had now raised the Covid alert level to four - it's second highest level- because of the evidence that Omicron is doubling in the UK every two to three days.
He continued: 'We know from bitter experience how these exponential curves develop. No one should be in any doubt there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming and I'm afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.
'But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose - a booster dose - we can all bring our level of protection back up.
'I know there will be some people watching who will be asking whether Omicron is less severe than previous variants and whether we really need to go out and get that booster and the answer is yes we do.
'Do not make the mistake of thinking Omicron can't hurt you, can't make you and your loved ones seriously ill. We've already seen hospitalisations doubling in a week in South Africa and we have patients with Omicron in hospital here in the UK right now.
'At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe and even if that proved to be true we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths.'
Mr Johnson also said if action was not taken now 'the wave of Omicron could be so big that cancellations and disruptions, like the loss of cancer appointments, would be even greater next year.'
The Prime Minister added: 'A fortnight ago I said we would offer every eligible adult a booster by the end of January. Today in light of this Omicron emergency I'm bringing that target forward by a whole month.
'Everyone eligible aged and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year.
'And we've spoken today to devolved administrations to confirm the UK government will provide additional support to accelerate vaccinations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
'To hit the pace we need, we’ll need to match the NHS’s best vaccination day yet – and then beat it day after day.
'This will require an extraordinary effort. And as we focus on boosters and make this new target achievable, it will mean some other appointments will need to be postponed until the New Year.
'But if we don’t do this now, the wave of Omicron could be so big that cancellations and disruptions, like the loss of cancer appointments, would be even greater next year.
'And I know the pressures on everyone in our NHS – from our GPs, doctors and nurses to our porters – all of whom have worked incredibly hard and we thank them for the amazing job they have done.
He added: 'We're a great country. we have the vaccines to protect our people so let's do it.
'Let's get boosted now. Get boosted now for yourself, for your friends and our family. Get boosted now to protect jobs and livelihoods across this country. Get boosted now to protect our NHS, our freedoms and our way of life.'
The address to the nation came after the UK Covid alert level was raised following a rapid increase in the number of Omicron cases being recorded.
The country's four chief medical officers and NHS England's national medical director recommended to ministers that the UK go up to Level 4 from Level 3 after a further 1,239 confirmed cases of the mutant strain were recorded across the country as of Sunday.
That brings the total number of UK cases of Omicron to 3,137, a 65 per cent increase from Saturday's total of 1,898 cases.
Level 4 is one step below the most severe Level 5. It means coronavirus is 'in general circulation, transmission is high and direct Covid-19 pressure on healthcare services is widespread and substantial or rising'.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi revealed yesterday that there were now patients with Omicron being treated in UK hospitals but health bosses said there was yet to be a confirmed Omicron-linked death.
The booster announcement came as Mr Johnson braces for a Tory rebellion in the House of Commons on Tuesday when MPs are due to vote on his 'Plan B' measures.
Labour has said it will vote for the new curbs which include rolling out vaccine passports for nightclubs and large indoor events, making face masks compulsory in most indoor public settings and advising people to work from home.
But the new restrictions have prompted Tory fury with 'at least' 60 Conservative MPs said to be planning to rebel to vote against the package.
Labour support means 'Plan B' will be agreed by the Commons even if there is a sizeable Tory revolt but should such a rebellion take place it would be the largest of Mr Johnson's premiership to date and would represent a hammer blow to his authority.
Mr Johnson said that from today in England the booster programme will be open to all adults who have had a second dose of the vaccine at least three months ago.
The Government announced yesterday afternoon that 1,196 additional cases of the Omicron variant had been identified in England, taking the total to 2,953.
Meanwhile, there were 38 confirmed cases in Scotland, where 159 cases of the Omicron variant have now been confirmed.
In Wales, 15 confirmed cases have been reported, but there were no additional cases in the past 24 hours, and in Northern Ireland, there were five additional cases, taking the total there to 10.
The Government said that as of 9am on Sunday there had been a further 48,854 lab-confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK overall.
It also said a further 52 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19.
The UK's chief medical officers - England's CMO Professor Chris Whitty, Northern Ireland's Sir Michael McBride, Scotland's Professor Gregor Smith, and Wales' Dr Frank Atherton, along with NHS England's national medical director Professor Stephen Powis - said the alert level needed to rise because of the 'rapid increase in Omicron cases'.
They said: 'Transmission of COVID-19 is already high in the community, mainly still driven by Delta, but the emergence of Omicron adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and healthcare services.
'Early evidence shows that Omicron is spreading much faster than Delta and that vaccine protection against symptomatic disease from Omicron is reduced. 
People queue outside Northumbria University's Coach Lane Campus NHS vaccination centre tonight for their booster jabs
Models by London School of Tropical Health and Medicine show the projected path of the Omicron Covid wave in the UK with if lockdown measures are reintroduced. This worst case scenario assumed that boosters do not provide high protection against Omicron and there is a large number of vaccine evading infections 'Data on severity will become clearer over the coming weeks but hospitalisations from Omicron are already occurring and these are likely to increase rapidly.'
The health experts said that 'when vaccine protection is reduced in the way that is happening with Omicron it is essential to top up that protection with a booster'.
'Both booster vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) increase the immune response substantially and show good effectiveness although with some reduction compared to Delta,' they said.
'The NHS is currently under pressure mainly driven by non-COVID pressures. With a variant spreading with increased transmissibility and reduced vaccine effectiveness, we are likely to see this pressure rise soon.
'It is extremely important that if you are eligible, you get your COVID vaccination now – whether this be your first, second or booster dose.
'People should continue take sensible precautions including ventilating rooms, using face coverings, testing regularly and isolating when symptomatic.'
Mr Zahawi painted a grim picture of the spread of the mutant strain as he said it now accounts for one third of all cases in London.
He described the emergence of Omicron as a 'huge bump in the road' as the nation tries to recover from the pandemic, with cases of the variant doubling every two to three days.
Mr Zahawi warned that the actual number of cases of Omicron is likely to be 'up to 10 times' higher than the confirmed number.
The Cabinet minister said 20million booster jabs have already been administered and 'it is now a race to get all adults who are eligible for their booster jabs to be boosted as quickly as possible'.
He added: 'As Patrick Vallance said at the press conference, we are transitioning this virus from pandemic to endemic but there are big bumps in the road and this is a big bump, a huge bump in the road, in the sense that we now have a variant that is so infectious that it will dominate and of course exponentially grow.'
The pleas to the nation to get booster jabs came as the PM faces a massive Tory rebellion when the House of Commons votes on his 'Plan B' on Tuesday. 
Boris Johnson yesterday urged people to 'get boosted now' and said the UK is 'now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant'Tory MP Steve Baker yesterday accused Mr Johnson of 'creating a miserable dystopia' by re-imposing coronavirus restrictions.
Mr Baker lashed out at Mr Johnson and claimed 'at least' 60 Tory MPs will vote against the Government when they are asked to rubber-stamp the PM's latest Covid curbs.
However, the PM's crackdown will almost certainly be agreed by the House of Commons after Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the Labour Party will vote in favour of the new rules.
Sir Keir said yesterday he believed the measures were 'necessary' to counter the 'great threat' posed by the Omicron variant.
He said Labour would act in the 'public interest' and support 'Plan B' as he insisted he would resist calls to take 'political advantage' of the situation.
Mr Johnson triggered his 'Plan B' last week in a bid to buy the UK time in the fight against Omicron.
Many Tory backbenchers have reacted with fury to the measures, with some having already pledged to vote against the moves.
The decision to make vaccine passports compulsory for large venues has gone down particularly badly with backbenchers.
The passes will need to be shown to gain access to indoor venues with more than 500 people, unseated outdoor venues with more than 4,000 people and any venue with more than 10,000 people from Wednesday.
The 'Plan B' measures also include compulsory mask-wearing in most public indoor settings, as well as guidance for employees to work from home where they can.
Scotland's Deputy First Minster John Swinney yesterday confirmed the country was already considering bringing in new restrictions in the nation next week.
It comes after Professor Eleanor Riley, a professor of immunology and infectious disease at the University of Edinburgh, said the variant is spreading so quickly in Britain everyone will come into contact with it 'unless you're a hermit'.
Professor Riley warned 'a lot of people' could still end up in hospital even if the strain proves to cause milder symptoms than Delta.
Hospitals have already had to start shutting wards after detecting cases, with Raigmore Hospital in Inverness forced to close one of its units after a spike in infections.
Meanwhile, new rules on care homes have 'almost' returned residents to the same conditions they were in a year ago, according to care leaders. Mr Gove yesterday announced care home resident will be banned from seeing more than three named visitors this winter in order to protect them from the vaccine-evading variant.
While Covid booster jabs have been shown to be effective against Omicron, there are concerns that the millions of people who are yet to get their third inoculation could be unprotected against symptoms of the virus without it.
Officials stress two doses should still offer high protection against severe illness but even a small drop in that could trigger a surge in hopsitalisations.
Of the nearly 1,900 Omicron cases in the UK, 1,757 have been found in England, 121 were detected in Scotland, 15 were in Wales and five in Northern Ireland.
The variant already makes up 30 per cent of new Covid cases in London, according to confidential data given to ministers.
Stark projections show the super-mutant variant could become dominant within days, prompting concerns that Mr Johnson will have no choice but to hit the panic button once more.
It comes as leaked advice from the UKHSA, sent to health secretary Sajid Javid, called for 'stringent national measures' to be brought in by December 18.
While No10 said there were no imminent plans for more restrictions when Plan B was announced this week, Mr Gove warned on Friday that the government had been shown 'very challenging information' about the speed of Omicron's spread at a Cobra meeting.
He hinted the Government was considering Plan C, saying: 'We need to keep everything under review.'
And the LSHTM modelling suggests that even under the most optimistic scenario — low immune escape of Omicron from vaccines and high effectiveness of booster jabs — a wave of infection is projected which could lead to a peak of more than 2,000 daily hospital admissions, with 175,000 hospital admissions and 24,700 deaths between December 1 this year and April 30, 2022.
This is if no additional control measures are implemented over and above the current Plan B introduced by the Government in England.
The team said mask-wearing, working from home and booster jabs may not be enough, and predict a peak of daily hospital admissions of 2,400 in January.
In this scenario, bringing in control measures early in 2022 — such as restrictions on indoor hospitality, the closure of some entertainment venues and restrictions on how many people can gather in one place — would be sufficient to substantially control the wave, reducing hospital admissions by 53,000 and deaths by 7,600.
Dr Rosanna Barnard, from LSHTM's Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, who co-led the research, said: 'More data over the next few weeks will strengthen our knowledge on Omicron and the consequences of this on transmission in England.
'However, these early projections help guide our understanding about potential futures in a rapidly-evolving situation.
'In our most optimistic scenario, the impact of Omicron in the early part of 2022 would be reduced with mild control measures such as working from home.
'However, our most pessimistic scenario suggests that we may have to endure more stringent restrictions to ensure the NHS is not overwhelmed. Mask-wearing, social distancing and booster jabs are vital, but may not be enough.
'Nobody wants to endure another lockdown but last-resort measures may be required to protect health services if Omicron has a significant level of immune escape or otherwise increased transmissibility compared to Delta.
'It is crucial for decision-makers to consider the wider societal impact of these measures, not just the epidemiology.'
Two Covid jabs should still slash risk of dying from Omicron or being hospitalised by 84% even if they offer virtually zero protection against symptoms, SAGE estimates
Two Covid jabs should still slash the risk of dying from Omicron by up to 84 per cent but a booster is twice as good at preventing someone from falling ill, according to official estimates.
SAGE modelling published over the weekend worked off the assumption that two Pfizer doses give 83.7 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death from the highly-evolved strain.
A two-dose course of AstraZeneca's vaccine was estimated to reduce the risk of severe disease from Omicron by 77.1 per cent. However, both vaccine brands were assumed to wane within three to six months.
At that point, the Government's scientific advisers believe protection from two AstraZeneca jabs could be as low as 61.3 per cent and 67.6 per cent for Pfizer.
A booster dose of Pfizer's vaccine was estimated to top-up immunity to over 93 per cent, regardless of which jab someone was originally given — providing a similar level of protection as two doses did against Delta.
The estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies. The gloomy analysis warned that Omicron may lead to more hospitalisations than England's second wave last January, when up to 4,000 infected patients were being admitted to NHS facilities every day.
Scientists have been racing to work out how effective existing vaccines will perform on the Omicron strain since it was first discovered on November 24. There was huge concern that it would be unrecognisable to jabs because of the 30-plus mutations on its spike protein.
Current jabs were designed to target the original virus that emerged in Wuhan. But because the variant is so new, experts are still relying on lab experiments which may not reflect how the variant will behave in the real world.
Professor Paul Hunter, an expert in infectious diseases at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline he expects two jabs to protect against severe illness even better. He said hospital data in South Africa's Omicron ground zero suggested T cells, which are more difficult to measure, were playing a crucial role in immunity.
However, Dr Simon Clarke, a microbiologist at Reading University, argued the drop in efficacy of two jabs was still 'concerning'. He told MailOnline: 'Nobody ever expected Omicron to wipe out vaccine efficacy it was just a drop that was expected — and that in itself can do enough damage.'
Even at 84 per cent protection from severe illness, that leaves 16 per cent vulnerable to being hospitalised or killed by Omicron. That's up to three times as many as with Delta.
These vaccine effectiveness estimates were presented in modelling by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) on Saturday and are based on lab studies looking at antibodies, rather than real-world data. It shows 'vaccine effectiveness' on symptomatic disease and hospitalisations/deaths from Omicron. The dots represent the number of people out of a group of 100 who are vulnerable to Covid. For example the study found boosters offered 93 per cent protection against hospitalisation and death. In a group of 100 booster vaccinated people, you would expect seven to require hospital care
The UK Covid alert level was raised from level 3 to level 4 after the UK reported another 1,239 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant
The LSHTM paper estimated that two doses of AstraZeneca's jab only gives 36.1 per cent protection from getting symptomatic Omicron after six months, and Pfizer's just 46.7 per cent.
Early real-world data from the UK's first 500 Omicron cases suggests that AstraZeneca's vaccine provides even less protection against mild illness.
By comparison, the LSHTM model assumed that a booster Pfizer jab slashes the risk of symptomatic infection by 80.3 per cent.
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The team's vaccine effectiveness estimates were based on neutralising antibody studies which test Omicron against the blood of vaccinated people.
While antibodies are a good indicator of immunity, they are just one part of a more complex immune response to the virus that also involves T and B cells.
Professor Hunter told MailOnline that there were 'grounds for optimism' based on the paper's estimates.
He said: 'As well as antibodies we've got T cells, and there is some evidence T cell immunity is better conserved between old variants and Omicron than antibodies.
'The big issue is here is all of their results are estimates based on neutralising antibodies and while that is probably accurate for infection and symptomatic disease, it's a bit different when looking at severe disease.
'So there's reason to hope that their [the LSHTM's] estimations for protection against hospitalisation and death might actually be better — even from two doses.
'There's some world evidence from South Africa that this may well be the case.'
While hospital admissions are rising in South Africa, data suggests patients are coming in with milder illnesses and are being discharged quicker.
In Tshwane, Gauteng Province, one of the epicentres of the new outbreak, just a quarter of patients admitted since November for Covid had severe illness, compared to 65 per cent at the same point in the Delta wave. And nationally, South Africa is recording fewer than 40 Covid deaths on average per day.
But Dr Clarke warned against being complacent about the figures, adding that Omicron's ultra-infectiousness could on its own be enough to overwhelm the NHS.
No10's experts have warned there could be an astronomical one million Omicron infections per day by the New Year — about 20 times more than the current rate.
While scientists are split over the likelihood of the UK actually reaching such a level, Dr Clarke said: 'We mustn't overlook the transmissibility element.
'If we're talking 1million cases per day then we would expect a 20-fold increase in the number of those ending up in hospital. Even if you take half of that, that's still 10 times more patients in the NHS.' There are currently 800 people being admitted to UK hospitals for Covid each day.
On reports that Omicron is much milder than past variants, Dr Clarke warned that even if this is the case, the strain may make jabs so weak at preventing infection that it creates a 'mass sickness'.
'We could end up with a society and economy that slows down and almost stops, not because people are in hospital but because people are at home sick and can't work.'
If true, the LSHTM paper's estimate that two vaccine doses could provide as little as 36 per cent protection against symptomatic infection would put it below international vaccine thresholds.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said when Covid jabs were first put into development that they should cut the risk by at least 50 per cent to be considered for approval.
But Professor Hunter insisted that the UK's new turbocharged booster programme should shield it from a wave of hospital admissions on par with previous peaks by raising immunity well above that threshold thanks to the combination of natural and vaccine-induced immunity.
He told MailOnline 'I believe we have more protection than some would imagine. In the case of South Africa, they seem to be doing [fine] even without the booster because they have high levels of natural infection, although we'll need to wait another few weeks before we can be sure about that.'
The LSHTM model also looked at a worst-case scenario, in which waning immunity from two jabs provided as little as 45 per cent protection against hospital admission and death.
But experts said this was too pessimistic and unlikely to be true in the real world. In that scenario, a booster dose could provide just 83.7 per cent protection against severe illness.
Professor Lawrence Young, a microbiologist at Warwick University, said he was 'cautiously optimistic' that boosters will provide even better immunity in the real world and enough to prevent harsher restrictions.
But due to the two-week lag between getting a booster and developing immunity, he said light social curbs were necessary to keep infections low in the meantime.
He told MailOnline: 'One of the many challenges with the super-charged booster campaign is that it takes around 10-14 days for the booster jab to provide high levels of protective immunity.
'This further emphasises the importance of other protective measures to prevent infection and I'm convinced that Plan B is enough.' Zahawi: 'It's a race between the booster's protection and Omicron'us'
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