Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Wednesday, Sep 03, 2025

NHS increases daily rate of booster jabs by 75% in one week

NHS increases daily rate of booster jabs by 75% in one week

Figure remains short of 1.5m jabs a day needed to match PM’s promise of boosters for all eligible by end of year

The NHS has increased the daily rate of booster vaccinations by three-quarters in a week – but remains short of the roughly 1.5m jabs a day needed to match Boris Johnson’s promise of a booster jab for all those eligible by the end of the year.

One group of health service bosses said the NHS “should not be blamed” if the target is not met, reflecting concern there could be political recriminations if the goal set by the prime minister just over a week ago is not reached.

On Monday, 897,979 boosters were administered around the UK, compared with 513,722 a week ago, the day after the prime minister brought forward the vaccination target in a televised address.

There remain 15.1 million people across the UK who had a second jab before the end of September and have not yet had a booster – and there are 10 days, excluding Christmas Day, to complete the programme in line with the prime minister’s pledge.

Johnson had promised that everybody eligible aged 18 or over “will have the chance to get their booster before the new year” – a commitment that applied to England but has been matched by Northern Ireland. Wales has pledged to offer the jab to all able to receive one by the end of the year.


NHS bosses were not given any notice of Johnson’s commitment. Saffron Cordery, the deputy chief executive of NHS Providers, which represents NHS Trusts, said it had always known the pledge was ambitious – and emphasised the speed at which the number of vaccinations had been increased.

“We must avoid a situation where blame is placed on the NHS, when staff are working completely flat out to get jabs in arms at a time when they are also working through a significant backlog of routine care,” she added.

Scotland, however, has already walked away from matching Johnson’s promise. Nicola Sturgeon, the first minister, wants 80% of the eligible population vaccinated with boosters before the new year and, on Tuesday, said she was confident that target would be met.

The figures for England show that 753,793 people received a booster on Monday, leaving 12.5 million people who have had a second jab still awaiting the extra vaccination. That amounts to more than 1.2m jabs a day over the remaining 10 days. Adding Northern Ireland and Wales leaves 13.8 million eligible people to go, a required rate of 1.4m a day.

Labour’s health spokesperson, Wes Streeting, said the party had called on ministers to increase the booster programme to half a million a day in October. “The government’s delay has left the NHS with a difficult target to hit, but if anyone can do it, they can.”

But the Conservatives said the party would not take lessons from Labour. “They wanted to keep us in the European Medicines Agency – if we had listened to them our world-leading rollout would have been massively delayed,” a party source said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
×