Covid news – live: Vaccines on Christmas Day in ‘jingle jab’ push as Javid warns hospitals could be overwhelmed

Hospitals face being “overwhelmed”, Sajid Javid has warned after NHS staff sickness from Covid rose by 50 per cent in one week.

The health secretary said officials were monitoring data “hour by hour” after new figures showed the Covid infection rates in the UK reaching record levels, with an estimated 1.4 million people with the virus.

While initial data suggests Omicron is less severe than Delta, and so causes less severe disease and fewer hospitalisations, scientists fear the latest variant is spreading among hospital patients and staff at a similar rate to the wider community, disrupting the NHS.

Our health correspondent Rebecca Thomas and science correspondent Samuel Lovett report:

People in England will be able to get a Covid booster vaccine on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, the NHS has announced as part of increased efforts to top-up protection against the Omicron variant.

The health service said around 200,000 appointments for a third dose are still available across the country and can be booked on any of the three key festive dates. The so-called “jingle jab” campaign will see NHS staff and volunteers administer doses at scores of local vaccination sites including town halls and local pharmacies.

NHS England advised booking in advance but said there will be options available for people without appointments across the country, including in Eastbourne, Hartlepool, Croydon and Dewsbury.

It comes as experts continue to warn that while a first or second dose can help, only boosters provide the maximum level of protection against Omicron.

Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid vaccination programme, said: “This Christmas, before sitting down to your dinner with your family, I would encourage anyone not already boosted to come forward, book an appointment and get the gift of a jab.”

The push over the festive period comes after a bumper weekend of 1.5 million doses and a record-breaking week for booster jabs. On Wednesday, 1.06 million vaccines were administered, the highest number ever – 968,665 of which were top-up doses.

Thailand has reported its first domestic cluster of Omicron cases on Friday in northeastern Kalasin province, officials said.

A total of 21 infections have been reported from the cluster country’s Covid taskforce spokeswoman Apisamai Srirangsan said.

The infections stem from a couple who travelled from Belgium through the country’s Test & Go scheme that waived quarantine for vaccinated arrivals, she said.

Both had tested negative for infections before travelling and after arrival in Thailand in early December.

€œBy 15 December, they started having symptoms and tested positive and were later confirmed to have the Omicron variant, she said.

The announcement comes as Thailand’s capital city Bangkok cancelled government-sponsored New Year activity, including midnight prayers.

A fire in the intensive care unit of a Covid-19 hospital killed two people on Friday in Russia’s southern city of Astrakhan, the TASS news agency said, citing a source in the emergency rescue services.

In a statement, Russia’s emergencies ministry said there were casualties, but gave no details.

Boris Johnson has urged people to come forward to get a Covid booster jab, as the latest data suggests the Omicron variant of the virus may be milder than others.

The Prime Minister used his Christmas message to tell people to get the “wonderful” gift of a booster jab as part of the “neighbourly” spirit of the season.

In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon also used her Christmas message to urge people to get vaccinated, describing the booster campaign as “a source of brightness during a really difficult month”.

The UK has reported yet another record daily surge of coronavirus cases, as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly through the nation.

The country reported a further 119,789 new cases on Thursday – marking the second day in a row that previous records were broken, after new infections exceeded 100,000 for the first time on Wednesday. With test supplies struggling to meet soaring demand, the actual number is likely to be far higher.

A civil liberties campaign group has threatened the government with a legal challenge over the introduction of “discriminatory” Covid passes for large venues in England.

Big Brother Watch, which works to “roll back the surveillance state”, said that if Mr Johnson does not scrap the Covid passes “we will seek to make our case in court”.

The group described the certification scheme, which requires members of the public to show either proof of a Covid-19 vaccination or a negative lateral flow test, as “draconian, discriminatory and pointless”.

Our Political Correspondent Ashley Cowburn has more:

New analysis by the People’s Vaccine Alliance (PVA) has shown the UK, European Union and the US have received more vaccines in the last six weeks than the African continent has received throughout this year, writes Amanda Coakley.

According to the data, between 11 November and 21 December, wealthier countries have gotten hold of 513 million doses, while African countries have acquired only 500 million doses over 12 months.

The majority of Covid vaccines delivered to the African continent this year have been sporadic donations often close to their expiry date.

Australia has narrowed down the wait time for Covid booster shots on Friday after another jump in daily cases is reported.

From 4 January, the country will offer booster shots to anyone aged over 18 who has received the second dose at least four months earlier.

The interval would be again reduced to three months by the end of January, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

“These dates have been set out of an abundance of caution to give Australians early continued protection,” Mr Hunt told reporters in Canberra.

Australia has reported 9,100 new Covid cases on Friday with a jump of around 900 cases recorded a day before. With rising numbers, there has been increased pressure on the government to make more people eligible for the third jab.