Huge queues outside booster centres as Britons line up for third jabs from 6am

Ross McGuinness
·3-min read
Hundreds of people queue at a vaccination centre in Bristol, as the coronavirus booster vaccination programme is ramped up to an unprecedented pace of delivery, with every eligible adult in England being offered a top-up injection by the end of December. Picture date: Tuesday December 14, 2021. (Photo by Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images)
Hundreds of people queue for their boosters at a vaccination centre in Bristol on Tuesday. (Getty)

There were huge queues for booster jabs at vaccine centres across England for the second day in a row on Tuesday.

On Sunday, prime minister Boris Johnson announced a ramping up of the third jab rollout, as the government aims to give one million boosters each day in the fight against the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Some people queued for five hours for a booster on Monday, and there were lengthy lines again the following day from 6am.

Soldiers stand outside a vaccination centre, while people queue to receive COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Manchester, Britain, December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Soldiers stand outside a COVID vaccination centre in Manchester on Tuesday. (Reuters)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: A large queue forms for Covid-19 vaccinations and booster jabs at The Abbey Centre in Westminster on December 14, 2021 in London, United Kingdom. The government announced it was accelerating its Covid-19 booster programme due to concerns about the Omicron variant. The UK now intends to offer every adult a booster jab before the end of the year. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
A large queue forms for COVID-19 booster jabs at The Abbey Centre in Westminster, London, on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Members of the public queue for vaccinations and booster vaccinations at St Thomas' Hospital on December 14, 2021 in London, England. The government announced it was accelerating its Covid-19 booster programme due to concerns about the Omicron variant. The UK now intends to offer every adult a booster jab before the end of the year. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Members of the public queue for booster vaccinations at St Thomas' Hospital in London on Tuesday. (Getty Images)

The queue for walk-in jabs at the Centre Court Shopping Centre in Wimbledon, south-west London, snaked around the entire top floor and back to the entrance on Tuesday.

Elsewhere, there were long waits for booster jabs in Bristol, central London and Cheshire.

People wait to be vaccinated at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Ramsgate, Kent, as the coronavirus booster vaccination programme is ramped up to an unprecedented pace of delivery, with every eligible adult in England being offered a top-up injection by the end of December. Picture date: Tuesday December 14, 2021. (Photo by Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images)
People wait on Tuesday to be vaccinated at a COVID-19 vaccine centre in Ramsgate, Kent. (PA Images via Getty Images)
NORTHWICH, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 14: People queue outside Hartford Methodist Church for Covid-19 vaccinations and booster injections on December 14, 2021 in Northwich, United Kingdom. The government announced it was accelerating its Covid-19 booster programme due to concerns about the Omicron variant. The UK now intends to offer every adult a booster jab before the end of the year. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
People queue outside Hartford Methodist Church in Northwich, Cheshire, for booster jabs on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - DECEMBER 13, 2021: People queue outside a Covid-19 vaccination centre set up at St Thomas' Hospital as the rollout of booster vaccines is extended to all adults in England this week to help tackle the rise in Omicron coronavirus cases on December 13, 2021 in London, England. Yesterday, the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the government's plan to deliver booster shots to all adults by the New Year, amounting to an average of 1 million doses per day, as the UK Covid Alert has been increased to Level 4 due to the rapid increase in Omicron cases. (Photo credit should read Wiktor Szymanowicz/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
People queue outside a COVID-19 vaccination centre set up at St Thomas' Hospital in London. (Getty Images)
People queue to receive COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, at a walk-in vaccination centre at Saint Thomas' Hospital in London, Britain, December 14, 2021. REUTERS/Toby Melville
People queue to receive COVID-19 vaccine and booster doses at Saint Thomas' Hospital in London, on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Read more: Today is the last day you can test positive for COVID and not isolate on Christmas Day

While thousands lined up for boosters, there were frustrating online queues for those attempting to secure a COVID-19 test on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, there were no available PCR test slots at walk-in or drive-through sites in the whole of England through the government’s booking website, although slots in some areas did become available later.

And for the second day running, lateral flow tests were unavailable to be ordered via the government website, though it is understood that a number were available in the early hours of the morning.

A message on the site on Tuesday morning said there were no tests available for home delivery, although tests can still be collected from pharmacies.

People queue outside a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination centre at a church in London, Britain, December 13, 2021. REUTERS/Hannah McKay
People queue outside a COVID-19 vaccination centre at a church in London. (Reuters)
People queuing at the COVID-19 vaccination centre at Dundonald Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Liam McBurney/PA Images via Getty Images)
People queuing at the COVID-19 vaccination centre at Dundonald Hospital in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (PA)

On Tuesday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said: “There is no shortage of lateral flow tests. More tests should become available for home delivery every few hours.

“We are issuing record numbers of rapid test kits to people’s homes across the country, with 1.6 million tests – 230,000 boxes – distributed just yesterday. We are urgently working to further expand our delivery capacity so more people can order tests.

“Everyone who needs a lateral flow test can also collect them at their local pharmacy, some community sites and some schools and colleges.”

Watch: Huge queue as people wait for booster vaccine in Bristol

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories