In an effort to speed up the rollout of winter top-up doses, covid booster jabs will be offered at walk-in clinics starting today.
Last night, NHS chiefs announced that eligible patients will now be able turn up for their injections instead of booking an appointment.
All over-50s can get a booster starting six months after their second jab, but they must wait for an invitation by their GP to make an appointment.
The booster has been administered to 6.7 million people in England, just over half of the eligible 12.6million.
However, boosters will be available at hundreds of walk in sites across the country starting today without the need for a reservation.
Individuals are encouraged to use the NHS online walk in finder to locate their nearest centre.
NHS England stated that almost everyone lives within ten mile of a fixed vaccination site.
Officials hope that the move will significantly improve the slow uptake of the booster jabs, and eliminate the need to lock down further.
Ministers have been under pressure to ‘turbo-charge’ the booster rollout to prevent another winter surge and further restrictions
Recent data shows that six million eligible adults in England have yet to receive their third dose.
This weekend Boris Johnson warned that those who have been double-jabbed should not be ‘over-confident about their level of immunity’.
The Prime Minister warned they risk becoming ‘seriously ill’ if they do not get their booster jab and that ‘people don’t quite realise the first two jabs start to wane’.
Dr Nikki Kanani, deputy lead for the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: ‘NHS staff are making it as easy as possible for people to get their top-up vaccination.
Today, people can go online to find their nearest booster site and immediately get their booster.
The booster is not just nice to have – it is really important protection ahead of what we know will be a challenging winter.
So if you are eligible, please do check the site finder and go get your jab.’
NHS chiefs announced last night that eligible patients will be able to come to their injections without having to book an appointment.
Ministers have been under pressure to ‘turbo-charge’ the booster rollout to prevent another winter surge and further restrictions.
The booster has been used by 6.7 million people in England so far, which is just over half the 12.6million eligible.
This weekend, approximately 569,000 third doses of medication were delivered in England.
The Prime Minister has insisted there is currently no reason to activate the Government’s Covid Plan B, which would involve compulsory face masks, vaccine passports and working from home.
Latest data shows that the number of cases is continuing to decline, with another 38.009 deaths being recorded yesterday. There were 74 more deaths.
Officials are growing more positive that the surge associated with September’s return to schools has stalled.
However, they warn that there could be another winter wave and that boosters are essential in preventing it.
Johnson previously indicated that he was in favor of reducing the gap at which people are eligible for boosters to just five months to speed up the rollout.
Expert advisors on the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation have been discussing this move, which was supported by Jeremy Hunt, former health secretary.
Friday’s announcement by Health Secretary Sajid Javid was that patients who are most at risk will be eligible for boosters starting five months after their second jab.
So that the most vulnerable patients, such those in care homes or hospitals, can receive their top-up doses sooner, rules will be made more flexible.