A RECORD number of people received an extra dose of the coronavirus vaccine in Herefordshire after a new booster jab target was announced by the Prime Minister, figures reveal.

On Sunday (December 12), Boris Johnson revealed that every eligible adult in England is to be offered a top-up injection by the end of December, a month earlier than previously planned.

More than 40 per cent of adults across the UK have already had a booster vaccination, but Mr Johnson moved his target forward by a month in a bid to head off the worst effects of the Omicron variant.

Data from the UK coronavirus dashboard shows at least 2,370 people in Herefordshire received a booster or third vaccine dose on Tuesday, December 14 – the latest available data.

And anyone who has not yet had their booster, which according to the latest figures is around 52 per cent of people over 12 in the county, has a variety of sites to choose from this weekend.

Anyone over 18 has been urged by Government and health officials to get a booster jab amid concerns over the Omicron variant.

According to the NHS website, the following sites have availability this weekend:

  • Earl Mortimer College, South Street, Leominster: available slots Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday
  • Elgar House, Holmer Road, Hereford: available slots all day Saturday and Sunday 
  • Saxon Hall, Hoarwithy Road, Hereford: available slots all day Saturday and Sunday

The NHS has said there were 2,000 slots at Earl Mortimer College and 3,000 at Saxon Hall.

To book, visit the NHS website here.

Walk-in jabs will also be available at Hereford Cattle Market in Holmer Road from 8am until 7pm this Saturday and Sunday.

The number of jabs given on Tuesday was up 1,941 the same day last week, and the highest number since the NHS booster jab campaign was launched in mid-September. They followed the 1,785 people who received an extra dose on Monday.

It means 83,926 people in Herefordshire had received a booster or third dose by December 14 – at least 48 per cent of people aged 12 and over, based on the number of people on the National Immunisation Management Service database.