Health authority will ‘pull out all the stops’ to meet booster vaccine target, By local democracy reporter Matthew McLaughlin

HEALTH and care leaders and vaccine volunteers in the Bath, Swindon and Wiltshire area are gearing up to offer all eligible adults booster jabs by the end of 2021.

In a pre-recorded national address on Sunday night, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK “must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection”.

This follows a rapid rise in Omicron cases; the Covid threat level was raised from 3 to 4.

During the address Boris Johnson set an end of year deadline for adults to be offered a Covid booster jab.

Responding to the urgency outlined by the Prime Minister; the Clinical Commissioning Group has announced that all vaccine centres will have extended opening hours. This will allow the CCG to look for new venues to help deliver 18,000 vaccines per day over the coming weeks.

Booster vaccines will soon be available to all adults over the age of 18, providing three months have passed since their second Covid jab. As before, people are encouraged to pre-book appointments, rather than arrive at a venue without a confirmed slot.

Currently, those over 30 years of age can book their booster online with the opportunity for those 18 and over opening on Wednesday (December 15th).

Director of nursing and quality, Gill May said, “We are pulling out all the stops to ensure we meet the vaccination target announced by the government.

“It is going to be an incredibly busy few weeks, and I ask for people to show their support to our already- stretched vaccine teams by pre-booking appointments wherever possible and treating our staff with kindness and respect.”