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England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Chris Whitty last night launched an advertising campaign encouraging more to come forward, as booking opens to all eligible over 18s today. The NHS website had struggled to cope with the surge in demand, temporarily crashing within minutes of Boris Johnson’s televised address on Sunday.

More than 650,000 booster appointments were made on Monday, plus almost 50,000 for first and second doses.

Dr Emily Lawson, director of the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: “It is fantastic to see such a positive response. The data is clear ‑ getting boosted is our best hope of protecting people against the new variant “So please book your slot online and guarantee your vital jab.”

Some 418,000 booster doses were given in England on Monday, up by more than 150,000 compared with the same day last week.

In some places, people waited in queues at walk-in clinics for up to six hours to ensure they got a dose.

However, the daily figure was still a long way off the one million jabs per day needed across the UK to hit the Prime Minister’s target of giving all eligible adults the chance to get boosted by the end of the year.

More than three-quarters of all over-50s have had their top-up and a PR blitz will encourage more to come forward.

In a new advert Prof Whitty says: “There is a new variant of Covid-19 ‑ Omicron ‑ which is highly infectious and spreading fast. Every adult needs to get a Covid-19 booster vaccine.

“Boosters give you the best possible protection against the virus and should significantly reduce your risk of serious illness and hospitalisation.”

The 15-minute observation period after the Pfizer and Moderna jabs has been temporarily scrapped to increase the number of people who can be jabbed.

People were previously asked to wait a while in case of any rare allergic reactions.

However, officials have decided the risk is small ‑ with only one reaction reported for every 100,000 doses ‑ and cutting the time will help get more jabs done.

The decision followed advice from the four chief medical officers and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s Commission on Human Medicines.

MHRA chief executive Dr June Raine said: “Anaphylaxis and other severe allergic reactions are very rare side effects with the Covid-19 vaccines. 

“When the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly, the benefits of vaccinating as many people as possible, which will be gained from waiving the 15-minute wait, far outweigh the very small risks of anaphylaxis.”

The extra doses are being given at least three months after second jabs, as the health service races to stop Omicron.

Dr Lawson said staff were working “flat out” to set up more immunisation sites and additional appointments. Some will open 24 hours a day to help shift workers.

NHS Providers said a “hugely impressive mass mobilisation” had begun to meet the Government’s pledge. Its chief executive Chris Hopson said: “Can the NHS do it? When the ambition was announced 36 hours ago it felt undeliverable.

“But hugely impressive work is now underway. If we do fall short, it won’t be for want of trying.”

It came as the UK’s testing system showed signs of buckling under the pressure of rising cases.

For some time yesterday the Government’s PCR test website showed no availability to book at a walk-in or drive-through site in any region of England.

Officials said the glitch was caused by “exceptionally high demand” and more slots were made available in the afternoon. PCR test kits which are posted to homes, usually arriving the next day, remained available.

For a second day, people had problems ordering rapid lateral flow tests.

Double-jabbed individuals are being asked to test daily for seven days if they come into contact with an infected case, and experts say people should be using the rapid tests before going out to socialise.

But the tests have been periodically unavailable to order. It is understood this is due to delivery challenges in the face of high demand, rather than supplies. 

Some 230,000 boxes of tests were distributed to homes across the country on Monday. If unable to order, people were encouraged to try a pharmacy or check again later.

Downing Street said ministers were working with Royal Mail and Amazon to expand capacity and ensure more lateral flow tests can be delivered.

Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser for the UK Health Security Agency, told MPs: “We have plenty of lateral flow tests in warehouses, plenty more are on order to service the demand from the population of the coming weeks.”

A UKHSA spokesperson said: “Appointments for PCR tests are available, but high demand can lead to temporary reduced availability in some areas.

“More appointments are made available to book every afternoon.”

See the latest Covid vaccine stats below and visit InYourArea for all the Covid vaccine latest

Comment by Nikki Kanani

Since the pandemic first took hold at the beginning of last year, we have faced unprecedented challenges to the way we live. 

But we have come together to fight this virus ‑ and now, our incredible NHS staff are once again on a mission to protect the nation. 

We plan to offer every eligible adult the opportunity to book a life-saving booster by the end of the month, as the country unites against the Omicron variant by accelerating our jab drive. 

With data showing that a third dose of the vaccine boosts your protection against the new strain, it has never been more crucial to get your top-up. 

The expedited rollout means everyone eligible aged 18 and over is now able to book their vital booster online. 

And while some walk-ins are already offering the vaccine to all adults, booking through the online system will guarantee you an appointment ‑ so we would urge everyone to do that in the first instance. 

This massive expansion of the vaccination programme, already the biggest and fastest in NHS history, will see sites opening for longer hours and hundreds of new clinics popping up in handy locations, from cathedrals and parks to shopping centres and sports stadiums. 

I am particularly grateful for the hard work of GPs and their teams who deliver our world-leading vaccination programme while providing care for patients. 

We have now asked GPs to prioritise vaccinations, cancer checks and emergency care for the rest of the year. 

While this means some appointments will be postponed, we are asking people to be patient and consider the Herculean effort we are asking of our staff. 

As part of this mammoth drive to protect our health and our freedoms, we are also asking for your help. 

Thousands of people have expressed an interest in joining the booster effort ‑ for example, as a volunteer marshal or by taking up a paid role in admin or IT. Search ‘NHS vaccine team’ if you are also interested in helping us keep Britain safe.

Nikki Kanani is deputy lead, NHS Covid vaccination program

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