OVER-18s in Northern Ireland will be offered Covid booster vaccines to curb the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant, a leaked memo has revealed.
it was guidance rather than rules. in a statement to the scottish parliament, the first minister has set out the new advice to prevent the spread of the variant while the booster programme is rolled out. it s the toughest approach of any of the four uk nations. let s take a look at the new guidelines: people across scotland will be asked to reduce to a maximum of three the number of households meeting in social settings around christmas. but the first minister added that this would not apply on christmas day and that plans should not be cancelled. firms will also be encouraged to bring back physical distancing and screens in shops and hospitality venues. over 18s will be able to book their boosterjabs from tomorrow but she conceded that not everyone will have been vaccinated by the end of december . the first minister said the extra measures were needed because even if the omicron variant
seen across the country. in bristol, people have been queueing for more than three hours. i am really surprised at how many people are here, i got here half an hour before it opened and i thought there might be a bit of a queue, but i think there are just so few options. many more are in virtual queues, trying to book appointments to protect themselves from the omicron variant. we have shown that in the uk this is growing very fast, with a growth rate of initially 2 3 days and that growth rate seems to be shortening rather than lengthening at the moment. we are concerned, with the large volume of individuals who are being infected every day in our nation, that we are going to have a very difficult for weeks. four weeks. who can book their booster and how depends on where you are in the uk. in england, over 30s can book an appointment online, two months after a second dose. over 18s will be able to from tomorrow.
with prime minister borisjohnson warning of a tidal wave of infections from the new 0micron variant. he said that thousands of extra volunteers and military planners would be brought in to increase vaccination numbers. that could amount to 18 million jabs injust 19 days. the announcement came as the uk s covid alert level was increased from level 3 to level a. queueing round the block for their booster you will see a lot more of this in the coming days. from tomorrow the over 30s in england and scotland will be able to book their booster, and the over 18s from later in the week. good evening. over the past year. addressing the nation tonight the prime minister said the country was facing an emergency in its battle against 0micron. there is a tidal wave of 0micron coming and i m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.
was extended to all over 18s in england, scotland and wales by the end of this month. in northern ireland, boosters are currently only being offered to people over 30. huge demand meant the nhs england website crashed as people tried to book booster appointments and the website ran out of lateral flow tests. it s been confirmed that at least one person has now died in the uk with the new omicron variant of coronavirus and it s thought at least ten people are in hospital with it. it s spreading fast within the next 48 hours, its expected to be the dominant variant in london. here s our health editor, hugh pym. they were queueing for boosters in plymouth this morning and there were lines of people hoping to getjabs in solihull. in hungerford, some had come a distance to have their booster today. we come a distance to have their booster today. come a distance to have their booster today. come a distance to have their booster toda . ~ ., , ., booster today. we have come from near ports