The number of people getting their first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine has gone up by almost half in the week up to 21 December, with the under 30s driving the increase.
The sudden increase is due to fears of the Omicron variant, as well as the government's "Get boosted now" publicity drive, which has seen millions of people come forward for their third Covid shot in the past fortnight.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that in the week of 15-21 December, a total of 221,564 first and second doses were administered in England.
There was an 85% increase in the first dose for those aged 18 to 24 and a 71% increase for those 25 to 30.
More than 27 million people in England have already received their second dose of the vaccine, with more than seven in 10 people aged 18 and over receiving their booster.
The effect is being seen in older age groups. More over-60s had had a first dose in the week up to 21 December than in any seven-day period since June.
The data from the UK Health Security Agency shows that the effectiveness of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19 vaccine has been reduced over time.
A third dose provides between 70% and 85% protection against Omicron symptoms two to four weeks after the booster dose.
The public is being urged to get boosted now by the government and NHS England.
More than 30 million people have had their third dose and will be offered a booster by the end of the year.
The health and social care secretary, Sajid Javid, said that it had never been more vital to get your jabs and described the recent surge in first and second doses as excellent.
He said that the foundation for the booster jab to protect against Omicron was laid when the initial jabs were taken.
The senior doctor warned that there was no time to spare for those who had yet to have a booster.
The evidence is clear.
One or two jabs can help, but they don't give us the protection we need against Omicron.
He said that staff and volunteers would be working throughout the festive period to make sure people can get the protection they need as conveniently as possible and that people could go online to choose from thousands of vaccination sites to book an appointment.
Over the festive period, 750 armed forces personnel have been drafted in to support the booster programme, while extra vaccine centers and pop-up sites have opened to make it as easy as possible for people to be vaccinations.
More than a million slots for vaccinations are still available.
Millions of people have received a booster dose in the last few weeks, but about 10% of appointments have been missed nationwide, and hundreds of thousands of appointments remain unfilled since the prime minister urged those eligible to book a third jab.
