Fears of a deadly winter Covid surge were growing tonight due to delays in the booster jabs roll-out.
And with cases soaring, immunity waning and a new Delta variant in the UK, an expert warned curbs may return.
Professor Neil Ferguson said: “It’s critical we accelerate boosters. A Plan B may need to be implemented, which involves rolling back some measures.”
Brits face another winter of Covid restrictions unless boosters and children’s jabs are urgently ramped up, an expert warned today.
Professor Ferguson fears delays in the roll-out of third injections, along with waning immunity and soaring cases could spark a deadly spike.
Have your say on the booster rollout in the comment section
And he revealed a “Plan B” of limited curbs may be needed.
An NHS chief blamed the public for being too slow to respond to invites for boosters, but grieving families who have lost loved ones accused Boris Johnson of having “no plan” to prevent another surge.
It comes as the UK today recorded its highest daily death toll since March, with 223 more fatalities and 43,738 cases.
And a new Delta Plus variant was detected here that is behind a growing number of infections.
As some vaccination centres today stood empty, SAGE modeller Prof Ferguson said: “I do think it’s critical we accelerate the booster programme. Infection rates are highest in teenagers and most other European countries are ahead of us in vaccinating teenagers.
“I’d like to see boosters accelerated, vaccination for teenagers accelerated.
“We were very successful in getting vaccination rolled out early and we know immunity wanes over time, so we are now a bit more vulnerable.
“I don’t think we’re looking at another lockdown. The worst case is demands on the NHS. It’s unlikely we’ll see anything like the deaths of last year. Coming into the winter, there may be a Plan B which needs to be implemented, which involves some rolling back of measures.”
Former No10 chief scientific adviser Sir David King the pace of the booster rollout was going “extremely slowly”.
NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard insisted there is “no delay” in sending out booster invitations. But she added: “Whilst it’s great people are coming forward for their boosters, they are not coming forward as quickly as we saw for the first jabs.”
A publicity blitz is planned for this week, with radio and TV adverts urging people to go for both boosters and flu vaccines.
But Lobby Akinnola, of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said: “The UK now has the highest rate of cases in the world as we once again head into winter. Once again, the Government seemingly has no plans to prevent further loss and has done little to learn from our pain.
“How can they say they’ve done all they can to save lives?”
Get the latest news direct to your inbox. Sign up to one of the Mirror's newsletters
From half-term, kids aged 12 to 15 can use the national booking service to secure jabs rather than waiting for an NHS invite. One in every 38 pupils are now absent due to Covid as rates surge in the young.
James Bowen, of education union NAHT, said: “The Government cannot just sit back and accept the growing numbers of cases amongst children.
“Staff are affected too. Many schools are struggling to stay open with increasing numbers of teachers and support staff testing positive.”
Many other illnesses are also circulating because of low levels of natural immunity after lockdowns. And scientists warned the Delta Plus variant may be 10% more infectious.
New analysis showed 3.7 million of the 8.5 million at-risk people who had their second jab at least six months ago have now had their third dose.
The Covid-19 Actuaries Response Group estimates 22 million will be ready for a booster by mid-December but at current rates the programme to vaccinate those most at risk will not be completed until the end of January.
NHS England disputed this analysis, insisting 7.9 million people are eligible, of whom 5.5 million received invitations and “almost four million” have had their booster.
At the peak of England’s Covid vaccine rollout more than 500,000 were being administered daily but this is now around 150,000.
MPs today extended the Coronavirus Act powers to March 24 2022, allowing authorities to impose a string of restrictions on the public.
It was today reported that Sage has dropped its weekly meetings and is now gathering only once a month, despite the rising Covid cases.
