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.
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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.
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“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.
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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:
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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
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Manchester’s free summer picnic is coming back to Oxford Road
Danny Jones
Manchester’s free ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ is returning to the Oxford Road Corridor later this year, promising plenty of live music and entertainment, family-friendly fun, outdoor activities and lots more.
Coming back to Circle Square for the second time, the now annual and completely free city centre festival will set up for its sophomore edition right on Symphony Park.
Surrounded by numerous local businesses located within the thriving Bruntwood SciTech and Vita Group neighbourhood, this mini-district is once again set to draw in crowds from all over Manchester.
With that in mind, get your coolers, picnic baskets and blankets ready: it’s time for some alfresco fanfare.
Kicking off next month for one day only, Circle Square‘s ‘Summer in the City Picnic’ 2.0 will get underway pretty much from the outset, with the organisers promising a full day of festivities.
Visitors can look forward to an even more jam-packed schedule than last year, with creative workshops and interactive experiences, DJs right through to the evening, alongside roaming steel drum performances and even silent disco adventures, just to name a few.
Other events include: sip and paint sessions, pop-up mini golf and basketball shoot-outs; ‘foot pool’, a seasonal bouquet bar, as well as a dedicated picnic space for dogs, complete with bespoke pup portraits. Adorable.
2025 saw plenty of furry friends steal the show and become local celebrities for the day, and we’re sure ’26 will be no different.
The long picnic tables will once again take centre stage, creating a relaxed space for families and friends to come together over great food from Circle Square’s wide mix of indie restaurants and cafes, such as Gooey, Onda, Hello Oriental, Half Dozen Other, Saffa Soul, North Bar, Monkey Trio and more.
Punters are, obviously, to bring along their own picnic bits, packed lunches and favourite scran, but it’s nice to have the option of treating yourself to stuff on-site.
Better still, Circle Square’s proximity not only to Oxford Road train station, but the St Peter’s Square tram stop and various bus routes (even Piccadilly isn’t really that far) means that this is super accessible for anyone interested – not to mention that it’s completely free and open to all members of the public.
Taking place on Saturday, 8 August, we hope to see you there and hopefully with the sun shining.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures/Jody Hartley (supplied via SH Comms)
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UK set for another ‘potential’ heatwave next week after warmest June on record
Emily Sergeant
England could be heading towards another potential heatwave early next week, the Met Office has revealed.
While it’s obviously true that temperatures this week have returned to average for the time of year, bringing largely settled conditions for many, once next week rolls around, some parts of the country could be heating up once again – with the Met Office revealing what Greater Manchester residents should prepare for.
For the early part of next week, temperatures will definitely rise and perhaps reach what are considered heatwave conditions for some.
But if this is the case, the forecast suggests that it’s ‘unlikely’ to reach the high temperatures and humidity of last month’s heat, and the North West won’t be getting the worst of it.
The potential of next week’s heatwave comes after last month was officially declared the UK’s warmest June on record.
After a week of respite from the heat, high pressure moves in this weekend, dominating many southern and central areas for the next 10 days.
A defining feature of the month’s heatwave was the ‘exceptionally warm’ overnight temperatures, with frequent ‘tropical nights’ helping to drive the highest average June minimum temperatures on record.
Giving an insight into what’s to come as we head into the weekend, Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster, Tony Wisson, explained: “Toward the weekend, high pressure will continue to build in across most of the UK as it extends from the Azores. This will lead to more settled, warm or very warm conditions for many, especially across England and Wales, though some rain may still affect the far north.
“The forecast for this weekend suggests that temperatures could approach high 20s°C across parts of England, perhaps 30°C in parts of the southeast, with values of mid to high 20s°C in Wales.
“Although a return to heatwave conditions is looking increasingly likely for some areas, the likelihood of such extreme high temperatures or high levels of humidity as last week is currently low.”
Daisy Jackson -
13th December 2021 
