Hundreds face six-hour booster jab queue as rollout to all adults begins

Thousands have been stuck in hours-long queues or been unable to book an appointment online

People queuing for booster jabs at St Thomas Hospital, London. Everyone over 18 in England will be offered booster jabs from this week, the PM said on Sunday, as he declared an ‘omicron emergency’ (PA)

Hundreds of Britons faced many hours-long queues to receive their coronavirus booster jab in a day of chaos that saw lateral flow tests run out on the government website and the NHS site struggle with the surge in booster bookings.

It comes as Boris Johnson opened the booster jab programme to all adults in a bid to offer the third dose to all over-18s by the end of December, bringing his original target forward by one month.

St Thomas’ Vaccination Centre in Westminister confirmed a wait time of six hours for a booster jab, The Independent was told, with queues snaking around the building.

The hospital trust warned the public of a “high demand” for walk-in appointments causing extended waiting times.

Arthur, 36, who was queueing for his booster at St Thomas’ said he may look elsewhere due to the extensive waiting times. He said: “I’m just looking for a site to go to because I work nearby in Mayfair. The queue here might be too long so I’m searching for somewhere else nearby.

“I just want to get it done with and live a normal life.”

Operations manager Ria Burke, 25, who had been waiting in the queue for 20 minutes, said: “It’s the first day my age group is allowed to get jabbed and I live locally.

“I’d like to not endanger my family at Christmas. This is my third jab. I watched the prime minister’s announcement last night and it was a good sign post but I think like a lot of other people I was just waiting for the portal to open.”

Elsewhere in Sevenoaks, Kent, people queuing to receive their booster jab have been told to expect a three-hour wait. Sevenoaks Pharmacy on Dartford Road said they had to open two hours earlier at 7am because of queues and plan to remain open until 10pm to jab as many people as possible.

At Essentials Pharmacy in Covent Garden, Grace Whiley, 26, had been waiting in the queue for an hour and a half. She said: “It was a last-minute decision, I work round the corner and my age group can’t book til Wednesday. I just want to get it done. I’m pregnant so I want to be as protected as possible.”

Defence secretary Ben Wallace announced that 600 armed forces personnel have been made available to the NHS to support the booster rollout programme

It comes as health secretary Sajid Javid said that the UK was “once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus” as he warned that the new variant is spreading at a “phenomenal rate.” Boris Johnson confirmed today that at least one person in the UK has died from the omicron variant, heightening the importance of the booster programme.

Speaking during a visit to a vaccination clinic near Paddington in west London, the prime minister said: “I think the idea that this [omicron] is somehow a milder version of the virus, I think that’s something we need to set on one side and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population. So the best thing we can do is all get our boosters.”