The Government wants to see one million people per day given their Covid-19 booster jabs, in a bid to protect the public from a ‘tidal wave of Omicron‘.
Boris Johnson announced this weekend that the booster programme would be ‘turbo charged’, with all adults over 18 eligible to book their jabs from Wednesday.
People aged 30 and over are eligible to book their vaccination now, and those younger may be able to get theirs at walk-in sites.
The UK’s Covid Alert Level was raised from level 3 to level 4 over the weekend by chief medical officers, owing to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
The newer variant is expected to become the dominant strain by mid-December as cases are doubling every two to three days.
ADVERTISEMENT
Boris Johnson’s address yesterday. Credit: GOV.uk
Speaking to the nation yesterday, the Prime Minister said: “I am afraid we are now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant, Omicron, and we must urgently reinforce our wall of vaccine protection to keep our friends and loved ones safe.”
He continued: “We know from bitter experience how these exponential curves develop.
ADVERTISEMENT
“No-one should be in any doubt: there is a tidal wave of Omicron coming, and I’m afraid it is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need.
“But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose – a booster dose – we can all bring our level of protection back up.”
Here’s what you need to know about booking your booster jab.
ADVERTISEMENT
Who is eligible for a Covid-19 booster?
Anyone aged 30 and older is now able to book in for their Covid-19 booster jab, as long as it has been at least three months since you had your second dose of the vaccine.
Anyone over the age of 18 is also eligible for a booster jab, but won’t be able to pre-book on Wednesday December 15.
People in this age group may be able to get their jab at a walk-in vaccination centre.
Other groups who are eligible to book a booster are those who live and work in care homes, frontline health and social care workers, and over 16s with underlying health conditions.
You’ll be offered appointments that are at least three months after your second dose.
The same service will allow those aged 18 and over to book their boosters from Wednesday December 15.
Pop-up and walk-in vaccination centres will also be offering booster jabs to anyone aged over 18 from today, as long as it has been three months since their second dose.
What side-effects are possible after your booster?
Credit: Unsplash
The side-effects for the booster jab are very similar to the two initial vaccinations.
According to the NHS, these are all common symptoms to experience:
ADVERTISEMENT
a painful, heavy feeling and tenderness in the arm where you had your injection – this tends to be worst around one to two days after the vaccine
feeling tired
headache
general aches or mild flu-like symptoms
Resting and taking paracetamol should help with these symptoms.
Some of the largest local sites include a walk-in at the Town Hall extension in the city centre, a Pfizer centre at the Etihad Tennis Centre, and the Clarendon Leisure Centre in Salford.
Featured image: GOV.uk
News
Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is currently believed that Laura was last seen around January 2024.
Featured Image – GMP
News
More than 70,000 home buyers set to pay thousands after missing stamp duty relief deadline
Emily Sergeant
More than 70,000 home buyers across England are estimated to have missed the stamp duty relief deadline.
This sadly means they’ll be required to fork out thousands of pounds extra.
In case you hadn’t heard, up until yesterday (31 March 2025), anyone who was moving and had bought a home in the past was not required to pay Stamp Duty Land Tax, better-known as just stamp duty, on the portion of the property price up to £250,000.
But from today (1 April), this threshold has now fallen back to £125,000, which unfortunately means that property purchasers are facing an extra £2,500 in moving costs, on average.
While the end of the stamp duty relief will mostly affect those Greater Manchester buyers who had already previously purchased properties, first time buyers are sadly not exempt from the deadline changes too, as their current stamp duty threshold of £425,000 has now fallen back to £300,000 as of today.
Person holding the keys to a new house in their hand / Credit: Maria Ziegler (via Unsplash)
Given that the average property price for a first time buyer-type home is currently around £227,965, according to Rightmove, the new £300,000 threshold may hit those purchasing properties in more expensive areas – particularly the South East.
A third of those estimated 70,000 home buyers who have missed the deadline are thought to be first time buyers.
Leading property platform Rightmove published an analysis in February into just how much of an impact the end of the stamp duty relief would have on home buyers, all while calling on the UK Government to announce a short extension to the deadline to help people in the middle of the property purchasing process avoid potentially thousands of pounds in extra moving costs.
But despite these calls from industry leaders, there was no extension to the deadline announced in the last week’s latest Spring Statement.
“It’s extremely disappointing that the Government has not used the Spring Statement as an opportunity to extend the impending stamp duty deadline for those currently going through the home-moving process,” commented Rightmove’s property expert Colleen Babcock.
“We estimate over 70,000 people are going to miss the deadline and complete in April instead, and a third of those are first time buyers.”
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2021 
