Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Britain allows early booking of booster shots to speed up rollout

Britain allows early booking of booster shots to speed up rollout

BRITAIN'S health ministry on Saturday (6) said it would open up bookings for booster shots a month before people were eligible to receive the shots to help speed up the rollout ahead of the challenging winter months.

Prime minister Boris Johnson is relying on booster doses as a major plank of his plan to avoid lockdown this winter through Covid-19 vaccines rather than social distancing rules or mask mandates, but has been criticised for a slow start to the programme.


Around 3 in 5 eligible over-50s have had booster shots in England, with more than 9 million people getting booster doses in Britain overall so far.

Over-50s and vulnerable people will still become eligible for their booster shots 6 months after their second dose. But from Monday, they can book the appointment after five months.

Currently, people can only book the appointment six months after their second dose.

"This will accelerate the booster programme, ensure the NHS is able to vaccinate people as quickly as possible, and importantly help more people maintain protection against Covid-19 as we know immunity will dip over time," health secretary Sajid Javid, who sets policy in England, said.

The health ministry said that the winter would be challenging for the National Health Service (NHS), owing to increased spread of other seasonal viruses such as flu.

Britain is currently reporting an average of 40,000 new cases each day. Even though vaccines have greatly reduced deaths from Covid, doctors are warning that pressures are building inside hospitals.

Johnson has so far resisted calls for a "Plan B" involving mask mandates, vaccine passes and work-from-home directives, and Javid has said that while the NHS faces "huge" pressure, it is not currently unsustainable pressure.

"Covid-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your family ahead of a challenging winter and this change to the booking system will make it as easy as possible for people to book their booster jabs," Javid said.

(Reuters)

More For You

Farage pledges Reform UK election push as Tories, Labour falter

Nigel Farage gestures as he speaks during the party's national conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, Britain, September 5, 2025. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

Farage pledges Reform UK election push as Tories, Labour falter

POPULIST leader Nigel Farage vowed to start preparing for government, saying the nation's two main parties were in meltdown and only his Reform UK could ease the anger and despair plaguing the country to "make Britain great again".

To a prolonged standing ovation by a crowd at the annual party conference on Friday (5), Farage for the first time offered a vision of how Britain would be under a Reform government: He pledged to end the arrival of illegal migrants in boats in two weeks, bring back "stop-and-search" policing and scrap net zero policies.

Keep ReadingShow less
Shabana Mahmood

Newly appointed home secretary Shabana Mahmood arrives at Number 10 at Downing Street as Keir Starmer holds a cabinet reshuffle on September 5, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shabana Mahmood named home secretary, Lammy deputy to Starmer in major reshuffle

Highlights:

  • David Lammy becomes deputy prime minister while keeping foreign affairs brief
  • Angela Rayner resigned after admitting underpaid property tax
  • Lisa Nandy to stay on as culture secretary
  • Reshuffle marks first major shake-up of Starmer’s government

SHABANA MAHMOOD has been appointed home secretary in a major reshuffle of prime minister Keir Starmer’s cabinet following the resignation of deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Epping protests

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration. (Photo: Getty Images)

Asylum seeker convicted of sex assaults case that led to protests

AN ETHIOPIAN asylum seeker, whose arrest in July led to protests outside a hotel near London where he and other migrants were housed, has been found guilty of sexually assaulting a teenage girl and another woman.

The protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, about 20 miles (30 km) from London, triggered a series of demonstrations across the country during heightened tensions over immigration.

Keep ReadingShow less
Angela-Rayner-Getty

Rayner, 45, announced she would step down as deputy prime minister, housing minister and deputy leader of the Labour Party. (Photo: Getty Image)

Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner resigns after admitting tax mistake

Highlights

  • Rayner steps down after admitting underpaying property tax
  • Resigns as deputy prime minister, housing minister and Labour deputy leader
  • Becomes eighth minister to leave Starmer’s government, and the most senior so far
  • Her departure comes as Labour trails Reform UK in opinion polls

DEPUTY prime minister Angela Rayner resigned on Friday after admitting she had underpaid property tax on a new home. Her resignation is a fresh setback for prime minister Keir Starmer, who had initially stood by her.

Keep ReadingShow less
Migrants boat
Migrants swim to board a smugglers' boat in order to attempt crossing the English channel off the beach of Audresselles, northern France. (Photo: Getty Images)

UK pauses refugee family reunion route amid migration reforms

Highlights:

  • Refugee family reunion scheme suspended as part of migration reforms
  • Nearly 21,000 visas issued in the past year, mainly to women and children
  • New rules to include contribution requirements and longer waiting periods
  • Government expects first migrant returns to France later this month

THE GOVERNMENT has announced it is suspending a scheme that allowed families of refugees in the UK to apply to join their relatives, as part of efforts to cut irregular migration.

Keep ReadingShow less