Daily boosters fall far short of total needed to hit Boris Johnson's target

One day after Boris Johnson announced plans to give a booster to every eligible adult this year, the number of daily doses has fallen far short of the number needed to hit that target.

On Sunday, the Prime Minister said: “Everyone eligible aged 18 and over in England will have the chance to get their booster before the New Year.”

To achieve this, the NHS will have to administer an estimated 965,000 jabs in England a day, analysis shows.

Monday’s total was 333,866 and the highest number of vaccinations reported in one day in England was 686,424 on 20 March, according to the government’s coronavirus dashboard.

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NHS England figures show that up to 11 September, around 36.8 million people had received a second dose of coronavirus vaccine.

So based on the most recent figures, which show that 19.4 million boosters had been given up to 11 December, this leaves an estimated 17.4 million people who have had two doses and are now eligible for a third.

With 18 days left until the end of the year – including Christmas Day and Boxing Day – this means the NHS will have to administer more than 965,000 jabs a day to give boosters to everyone currently eligible.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid has suggested every person may not necessarily get a booster by the end of January.

He told Parliament: “It is asking a huge amount of our colleagues in the NHS. And it our joint view that we can try to offer adults a chance to get boosted by the end of this month.

“And that does not mean every single person necessarily can get that booster, it requires them to come forward and to take up this offer as well, as well as everything going right in this huge expansion plan.”

He added: “The NHS is doing everything it can with the full support of every department of Government to throw everything at this to offer as many opportunities and the maximum possible capacity that there is for delivering on that commitment. “

The NHS has also promised a different target to the Prime Minister, pledging to offer all adults the chance to book a booster, rather than actually receive one.

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On Monday morning, the NHS vaccination booking site crashed as hundreds of thousands of people try to book their booster jabs.

There were also issues with booking boosters through the site on Sunday, as demand surged following Johnson's announcement that all adults could come forward for a third jab.

GPs in Manchester added they were given “no notice” of the government plan to accelerate its coronavirus booster programme.

GPs are being asked to focus on urgent needs and vaccinations for the next few weeks but claim they were left out of the loop of the plans and only informed with hours to spare.

Meanwhile, Johnson has repeatedly declined to rule out further COVID-19 restrictions being introduced in England ahead of Christmas.

Speaking during a visit to to a vaccination clinic near Paddington, west London, he said: “Throughout the pandemic I’ve been at great pains to stress to the public that we have to watch where the pandemic is going and we take whatever steps are necessary to protect public health.”

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