Boris Johnson has issued a further plea to the 2.4 million people who have not had their third jab to do so as the Omicron variant continues to spread exponentially.
UK pharmacies have warned that they are running low on lateral flow tests with customers asking for them “every five minutes”.
The chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, Leyla Hannbeck, said that supply of the tests was “patchy and inconsistent”, warning the scale of the problem was huge.
People are also struggling to find PCR tests for Covid, with the government website showing stocks running low across the country.
Health experts have called for the self-isolation period to be cut again, from seven days to to five, amid increasing staff shortages in the NHS.
Chief executives in the health service say staff isolating will be a bigger pressure on the NHS than people needing treatment for coronavirus.
