In a pre-recorded message to the nation on Sunday, December 12, Boris Johnson announced he would be ramping up the booster vaccine programme.

The deadline for all adults receiving their booster dose was brought forward a month, to December 31. By this date, all adults over 18 will have been offered their booster dose.

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This follows warnings of the Omicron variant; with fears it will cause a "tidal wave" of infections.

In his statement, Boris Johnson said: "I'm afraid we're now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant Omicron.

"It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up."

He added: "At this point our scientists cannot say that Omicron is less severe.

"And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of Omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths."

When can over 18s get their Covid booster vaccine?

If you’re aged 40 or over and had your second dose over 2 months ago, you can book your vaccine now.

If you’re aged 30 or over, you can book online from tomorrow.

People aged 18 or over can book online from Wednesday.

How to book your Covid booster jab?

You can book your booster jab online on the NHS website here.

Can you walk-in for the Covid booster jab?

If you are in the eligible group, you can check your area for walk-in vaccine clinics. You can do this on the NHS website here.

 

For more information on the Covid-19 vaccines, visit the NHS website.