Booster jabs pace lags as Covid deaths rise sharply

THE ‘extremely slow’ rollout of booster jabs must be accelerated, scientists have urged as Britain grapples with the world’s second-highest Covid infection rate.

Teenagers also need to be given their initial vaccines more quickly, say experts who warn the UK has fallen behind other western nations as millions of eligible people are still to be injected.

It comes as Britain recorded 223 deaths in the latest 24-hour period – the highest daily count since 231 on March 9.

New daily cases approached 50,000 for the first time since July 17, with 49,156 on Monday – and although they were down to 43,738 yesterday health secretary Sajid Javid admitted the NHS faced a ‘particularly tough’ winter.

Only 3.7million of 8million eligible adults in England have taken up their booster jabs as photos showed deserted vaccine centres across the country.

Prof Andrew Hayward, an adviser to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said: ‘We need to get the vaccination rates up and prepare, potentially, to think about other measures if things do get out of control.’

Sir David King, chief scientific adviser from 2000 to 2007, warned the rollout is going ‘extremely slowly’, adding: ‘The disease is rising to another peak and this peak could be as serious as the last.’

After former health secretary Jeremy Hunt yesterday raised worries about a lack of 999 call-handlers, Mr Javid told MPs: ‘There are shortages across the NHS – he has mentioned 999 callers, there’s a huge pressure at the moment on 111 calls as well and emergency care generally, including ambulance services.’

Meanwhile, the government confirmed it is ‘keeping a very close eye’ on a new variant in the UK, named AY4.2 – though scientists say it appears, for now, to be less transmissible than the Alpha and Delta strains.