Tens of thousands of volunteers urged to come forward to help with booster programme as omicron spreads

Boris Johnson has called on “tens of thousands” of members of the public to come forward and volunteer in a bid to ramp up the booster vaccine programme amid a surge in infections caused by the omicron variant.

Current vacancies include stewards to organise and manage the queues, and trained vaccinators to administer the jabs.

It follows the prime minister’s pre-recorded address on Sunday that all adults in England are to be offered a booster vaccine before the new year, a month earlier than previously planned. The devolved nations have since followed suit.

Health secretary Sajid Javid reported that over 110,000 people had booked their top-up injection before 9am on Monday morning. It has been reported that, over the course of the day, up to 57,000 people booked their booster per hour.

Mr Javid also told the Commons that daily omicron cases in the UK are now estimated as being at 200,000.

In a direct appeal to the public, Mr Johnson said: “As part of our Get Boosted Now vaccination drive we need to increase our jabbing capacity to unprecedented levels. But to achieve something on this scale, we need your help.

“So today I’m issuing a call for volunteers to join our national mission to get jabs in arms. We need tens of thousands of people to help out, everyone from trained vaccinators to stewards.

“Many thousands have already given their time but we need you to come forward again, to work alongside our brilliant GPs, doctors, nurses and pharmacists, to deliver jabs and save lives. So please come forward if you can.”

At present, there are around 3,000 vaccine sites across the country, staffed by over 90,000 volunteers.

The Independent reported from a vaccination hub in Sevenoaks today, where hours-long queues formed outside, while the central NHS booking website repeatedly crashed creating further delays.

Monday’s setbacks in jab clinics, coupled with volunteer shortages amid million-a-day booster demand, has left some NHS leaders fearing they are being “set up to fail” with targets that may be difficult to reach, according to The Times.

Mr Johnson’s plea for volunteers follows last week’s announcement of an NHS recruitment drive for 10,000 paid vaccinators. Some 4,500 people have since registered their interest, while 13,000 have come forward as volunteer stewards.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard said: “In the face of the grave threat posed by the new omicron strain of Covid, the NHS is seeking to offer vaccine booster protection to all eligible adults by the end of the month, a new national mission in which everyone can play their part.

“There is no doubt that our incredible NHS staff will rise to the challenge but we cannot do this alone, we need the support of the public and volunteers to once again support the Covid vaccination programme.”

A further 54,661 Covid-19 cases were recorded in the UK today, while 38 more people died within 28 days of positive test.