Call for patience in Hucknall and Bulwell as NHS battles to ramp up Covid booster programme in battle against Omicron

Already the online booking system for the jabs is being overwhelmed with huge virtual queues that are matched in person at vaccination centres up and down the country.

As services continue to battle, a call has gone out to people to be patient and continue to try to secure an appointment.

Concerns on where new vaccine centres will open and if people will be able to book an appointment close by are some of the issues being raised.

In Ashfield, including Hucknall, 42 per cent of the population aged 12 and over have had their third booster jab

But in Nottingham, which includes Bulwell, only 20 per cent of the population aged 12 and over have had their third booster jab.

Mr Johnson delivered a televised message to households across the country on Sunday, December 12, following a rise in Omicron variant coronavirus cases.

He said everyone over the age of 18 will be offered a Covid booster jab by the end of December, provided three months have passed since their last jab, to help protect people from a fresh wave of infections.

The number of cases of the new variant is doubling every two to three days. – far quicker than the existing dominant Delta variant.

Mr Johnson has said extra vaccine and mobile sites would be set up and opening hours extended. More volunteers would be trained to deliver the vaccines.

Coun Jason Zadrozny (Ashfield Independents), leader of Ashfield District Council, said: “After Boris Johnson’s rushed announcement, we are awaiting further detail about the implications for the council. At the moment we have received no guidance.”

Amanda Sullivan, accountable officer at NHS Nottingham and Nottinghamshire CCG, said: “The NHS is working exceptionally hard to accelerate the booster programme to offer protection to as many people as quickly as possible.

“Locally, we are establishing a number of ways we can quickly step up the volumes of jabs given to the public.

“These will include increasing capacity at our sites, offering extended opening hours, standing up more vaccination sites, working to increase our vaccinator workforce, accepting the national support on offer which includes the military and supporting our GPs and community pharmacies to be able to offer the lifesaving jabs to as many people as possible.

“I want to be clear that our NHS workforce will be working very hard to vaccinate as many people as possible and I am grateful for the support across the local system in helping us to achieve this.

“The local NHS is prioritising bookings for boosters and I would urge eligible people to book a slot to guarantee their jab.

“If you are over 30 you can book on the NHS website or by calling 119. We appreciate the booking systems are very busy at the moment, but we would ask that you keep checking for more availability as it comes online.”