Efforts to increase the number of Covid jabs in the UK should be focused on reducing the number of unvaccinated people, according to a leading expert.
As Omicron spread rapidly around the country towards the end of 2021, health advisers and government ministers stressed that two doses are not enough to protect against the new variant, urging those eligible to take up a booster dose as soon as possible.
The message hit home: in an attempt to avoid another dismal Christmas and protect their loved ones people dashed to get jabbed, with over one million booster vaccinations reported on 21 December alone. Booster doses have gone up to about 50,000 a day.
The focus should be on reducing the number of people who haven't had their first jab, according to a vaccine expert.
Prof Beate Kamp said that the booster programme might have reached saturation and that it was best to focus on those who had no vaccine at all.
The vaccine minister said the Christmas break and public holidays were key factors in the booster slowdown. The ongoing slump suggests there is more to come.
One reason could be that people need to wait 28 days after testing positive for Covid before they can have a booster.
At the start of the year, cases were high, with Omicron at its peak, so we might see an increase in booster uptake now that more people are eligible.
He said that he had found that many people had a view that Omicron was just another variant and it was also related to hesitancy around booster jabs.
The perception that Omicron is a variant has been compounded by the fact that it is in large part thanks to vaccinations.
Williams suggested that the falling levels of infections might also reduce the sense of urgency around getting boosted.
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