Every eligible adult in England has now had the chance to take up a Covid booster jab, as the government and NHS hits their target to offer it to those aged 18 and over by the New Year.
The government set out its plan on 30 November to give all eligible adults the chance to get their top-up jab by the end of January.
But the target was brought forward earlier this month through the national Get Boosted Now campaign, aiming to offer all eligible adults a booster by the New Year in response to the emerging Omicron variant.
The campaign led to a huge increase in vaccination rates, with more than eight million top-up jabs administered in just over two weeks in England - a 45% increase - between 12 December when the Prime Minister set out the new ambition and yesterday (Thursday 30 December).
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The NHS in England has broken record after record in that time – including the highest number of vaccinations ever recorded in a single day; 830,000 boosters reported on Saturday 18 December.
This was also the day the UK hit over one million vaccinations in total, including first, second, third and booster doses – jumping from 928,000 the previous day.
More than 28.1 million people in England – more than 7 in 10 of eligible adults – have now had their booster following the rapid expansion of the vaccination programme over the last month.
This includes around 90% of those aged 50 and over who are eligible.
The COVID-19 booster vaccination programme has been a historic national effort for both the NHS and the public, with tens of thousands of volunteers stepping up to support NHS staff and thousands of people queuing up to get jabbed.
This week, the NHS ensured over 1.5 million appointments were still available between 27 December and 3 January (Monday), allowing anyone eligible who hadn’t yet had the booster the opportunity to book their appointment.
For anyone who hasn’t yet come forward, hundreds of thousands of appointments remain available to book between now and Monday 3 January with millions more slots available beyond 3 January.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said:
“Our world-leading vaccination programme has meant tens of millions of people have been able to see their loved ones this Christmas knowing they have the protection of the booster.
“I am delighted to confirm we have hit our target of offering a COVID-19 booster to all adults by the New Year.
“I am incredibly proud of the work the NHS has done to accelerate the programme and offer my thanks to the frontline staff, volunteers, Armed Forces and British public who have made it possible for us to meet this commitment.”
