LONDON — After Britain reported 122,186 new coronavirus cases on Friday, the highest number of infections in a single day since the start of the pandemic, booster shots were being administered across England through Christmas Day and Boxing Day — the day after Christmas and a major shopping event.
Britain has reported more than 100,000 new cases for the past three days, and the rise of the highly infectious Omicron variant has prompted Prime Minister Boris Johnson to step up efforts to deliver more booster shots.
National Health Service staff and volunteers are working through the holiday season in vaccination centers to give thousands of booster shots, National Health Service England said in a statement on Friday.
So far, more than 32 million third doses or boosters have been administered in Britain, and around 56 percent of adults have now received those shots, according to government data, and deaths remain relatively low, at a daily average of 116. In February, Britain’s average death toll hit a peak of 1,248.
Sajid Javid, the country’s health secretary, thanked the National Health Service and volunteers for “sacrificing time with their loved ones to deliver lifesaving jabs.”
“We are pulling out all the stops to offer all eligible adults a booster by the end of the year, and it’s so important people play their part and come forward,” he said in a statement.
