The covid-19 vaccination centres in the United Kingdom was on Tuesday under pressure as queue to get booster shot increased at various centres and media.
Also, in bid a to prevent the wide spread of the Omicron during the holidays, the National Health Service (NHS) website reportedly went crashing due to the mammoth of traffic vying to get vaccination appointments.
The scramble for booster shots and tests comes just days after UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a slew of new Covid-19 measures in the face of an incoming "tidal wave" of infections from the Omicron variant.
The British government has insisted that its new booster drive, which aims to deliver third doses to every adult by the end of December - a month earlier than planned - is the best way to stop the spread of cases and avoid imposing further restrictions. To do so, the UK will need to "hit warp speed" on its vaccination rollout, Johnson said on Monday from a London vaccination center, where he urged the public to step up as volunteer stewards or paid vaccinators.
"We'll have to attain a pace and a number of daily booster doses that will exceed anything that we've done before," he added.
However, the NHS booking system on Monday did not appear to be coping with the copious demand for appointments. More than 100,000 people in England booked booster doses overnight, Chief Executive of NHS England Amanda Pritchard said on Monday. Responding to reports of the website crashing Monday morning, Pritchard acknowledged there had been "some glitches on the system."
Despite the breakdown, Pritchard asked members of the public to keep trying, stressing that "more slots are going on all the time." She also asked those living close to walk-in clinics to make use of this facility if possible, despite people reporting having to queue up in the street for up to five hours.
The British Medical Association (BMA) has also warned that the vaccination campaign will not be enough to stop the spread of Omicron, with an estimated one in four people not eligible for boosters due to being unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated. The BMA has called for a return of face masks to pubs and restaurants, as well as 2-meter social distancing in all indoor settings.
"Despite describing the current situation as an 'emergency' with a 'tidal wave' of infections on the horizon, the Government's response reliance on the vaccine booster programme is missing the wider measures required to control the spread of Omicron," Dr Chaand Nagpaul, BMA council chair said in a statement on Monday.
With more than 200 cases of the omicron already discovered in the kingdom amidst the fast approaching Christmas celebration, country is on the verge being overwhelmed by the virus as it remains one of the most vulnerable countries in Europe.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under severe pressure even from his own Conservative party who are preparing to rebel against measures on working from home, Covid passports and mask-wearing in a vote in Parliament. He will be forced to rely on support from the opposition Labour Party to pass the new restrictions, which are a significant departure from the government's pandemic response in recent months. Johnson lifted all Covid-19 rules on "freedom day" in July and has until now resisted the more robust mitigation measures imposed in parts of Europe, like vaccine passports and mask mandates.
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