EVERY eligible adult in England has now had the chance to get a life-saving Covid-19 booster, the Government has claimed, as it "hits their target" to offer the top-up jab to those aged 18 and over by the New Year.

On November 30, the Government set out its ambition to offer all eligible adults the chance to get their top-up jab by the end of January.

This target was brought forward by the Prime Minister and the NHS earlier this month through the national Get Boosted Now campaign, aiming to offer all eligible adults a booster by the New Year in response to the emerging threat of the Omicron variant, to protect the public as quickly as possible.

The campaign led to a huge increase in vaccination rates, with over eight million top-up jabs administered in just over two weeks in England (a 45 per cent increase), between December 12 when the Prime Minister set out the new ambition and yesterday.

The NHS in England has broken record after record in that time – including the highest number of vaccinations ever recorded in a single day: 830,000 top-ups reported on Saturday, December 18.

This was also the day the UK hit over one million vaccinations in total, including first, second, third and booster doses – jumping from 928,000 the previous day.

More than 28.1 million people in England – more than seven in 10 of eligible adults – have now had their booster following the rapid expansion of the vaccination programme over the last month. This includes around 90 per cent of those aged 50 and over who are eligible.

The Government's Covid-19 dashboard however shows 58.3 per cent of those aged 12 and over have had their booster jab so far. No official figures for just adults are available on the dashboard.

The Covid-19 booster vaccination programme has been a historic national effort for both the NHS and the public, with tens of thousands of volunteers stepping up to support NHS staff and thousands of people queuing up to secure the protection for themselves and others.

This week, the NHS ensured over 1.5 million appointments were still available between Monday and this coming Monday, allowing anyone eligible who hadn’t yet had the booster the opportunity to book their appointment.

For anyone who hasn’t yet come forward, hundreds of thousands of appointments remain available to book between now and this Monday with millions more slots available beyond that day.

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Our world-leading vaccination programme has meant tens of millions of people have been able to see their loved ones this Christmas knowing they have the protection of the booster.

“I am delighted to confirm we have hit our target of offering a Covid-19 booster to all adults by the New Year.

“I am incredibly proud of the work the NHS has done to accelerate the programme and offer my thanks to the frontline staff, volunteers, Armed Forces and British public who have made it possible for us to meet this commitment.”

To meet the ambitious target and ensure the country was offered protection against the new variant, the Covid vaccination programme was accelerated and scaled up significantly over the past month.

This included:

• Opening over 3,000 vaccination sites, with 180 new sites having opened in December – including at football stadiums, shopping centres and at Christmas markets, with extended opening hours and some sites working around the clock

• Sending over 30 million people invites from the NHS during 2021– including over 3.9 million letters, 26.7 million text messages and 14.7 million emails inviting people to book online

• Sending a text to everyone in the country urging them to get boosted

• Drafting in 750 armed forces personnel to support deployment, alongside a renewed drive that has meant the recruitment of tens of thousands of volunteers

• Temporarily suspending the 15-minute observation period following Pfizer or Moderna booster jabs, where clinically safe and appropriate to do so, in order to get more jabs in arms.

Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid vaccination programme, said: “I am hugely grateful for the extraordinary efforts of NHS staff and volunteers this year, who have gone above and beyond to roll out the NHS vaccination programme and who, in just over 12 months, have administered more than 110 million life-saving Covid-19 jabs.

"It is thanks to their tireless efforts that 28 million people have also received their vital booster jab since September, and countless records have been broken in recent weeks as the biggest and most successful drive in health history accelerated the booster rollout and offered all adults the opportunity to book their top-up dose.

“With Covid-19 cases continuing to rise rapidly, the best resolution you can make this new year is to protect yourself and those around you, so I urge you to come forward for your booster as soon as you can, and with hundreds of thousands of appointments available in the coming days, it has never been easier to grab your jab.”

All adults can get the jab by booking online through the National Booking Service or by visiting their nearest walk-in vaccination centre.

Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said: “We have now offered all eligible adults in England a Covid-19 booster – a triumph for the NHS and the vaccination programme.”

While two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine provides strong protection against the Delta variant, data from the UK Health Security Agency shows two doses is not enough to protect people from Omicron - but a third dose provides around 70% protection against symptomatic infection from Omicron two to four weeks after the booster is given.

Recent UKHSA data shows people who are unvaccinated are up to eight times more likely to be hospitalised than those who are fully vaccinated.