All over-18s to be offered booster by end of year

Monklands residents aged 18 and over are set to be offered Covid booster jab appointments by the end of the year.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed “urgent work” was under way to step up the pace of the vaccine rollout.

This followed a televised address by Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning of a “tidal wave” of the new Omicron variant.

People aged 30-39 are now able to book an appointment, with slots to be opened to 18 to 29-year-olds later in the week.

Early analysis of UK Omicron and Delta cases shows two doses of the Covid vaccine are not enough to stop people catching the new variant.

But a booster prevents about 75 per cent of people getting any Covid symptoms.

Confirming the original plan to offer boosters to all adults by the end of January had been brought forward, Ms Sturgeon said: “i can confirm that urgent work is under way to further accelerate rollout of the booster vaccination programme in Scotland.

“Scotland already has the highest proportion of the over-12 population protected with booster or third doses of all the UK nations.

“Now, however, urgent efforts are being made to step up the pace even further with the aim of offering a booster jag appointment to all eligible adults by the end of this year, if possible.”

Speeding up The First Minister says “urgent work”is under way to step up the pace of the vaccine rollout