The NHS website has been hit with technical problems amid a rush of 100,000 people booking their booster jabs on Monday morning.
People struggled to book their third vaccine dose on Sunday night and Monday morning, with many reporting that the website kept “looping back” before they could get a vaccine slot.
Many rushed to grab an appointment on Sunday night following Boris Johnson’s announcement that all adults in the UK would be offered a booster before the end of the month. In a pre-recorded video message, the prime minister urged the nation to “get boosted now” to help stem the “tidal wave” of omicron variant infections.
On Monday morning, health secretary Sajid Javid said “we’re once again in a race between the vaccine and the virus” and revealed that ten people have been hospitalised in England with the omicron variant so far. He also said that omicron now makes up 40 per cent of infections in London.
Over 4,000 people were in the online queue to book their third jab at 7:30 on Monday morning. NHS digital said that the website was facing “extremely high demand” and that over 100,000 vaccine appointments had been booked before 9am.
In a tweet, the health service said: “The Covid vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queuing system.
“For users aged 18-29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 Dec.
“For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.”
While across England walk-in clinics have to seen queuing as people try to get their booster jab without an appointment.