• Henry Smith MP has marked ‘Boost Day’ – the one year anniversary of the UK becoming the first country in the world to approve Pfizer’s Covid vaccine – by urging people in Crawley to get their booster jab when they are called forward.
• More than 115 million vaccine doses have now been administered across the UK, and over 18 million people – including 25,950 in Crawley – have now received a Covid-19 booster jab to protect themselves and their loved ones this winter.
• By getting their booster jab, people will strengthen the wall of defence against Covid-19 and allow everyone to enjoy Christmas safely with their families and loved ones this year.

To mark ‘Boost Day’, Henry Smith MP has welcomed the news that 25,950 people in Crawley have received their Covid booster or third jab, as the Government and the NHS continue to step up efforts to ensure that vulnerable people are protected against Covid-19 over the winter.

Yesterday (Thursday, 2nd December) marked one year since the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use in the UK, allowing the life-saving vaccination programme to begin, starting with Margaret Keenan’s vaccination on 8th December 2020.

Henry said;

“It’s thanks to the incredible effort and success of the Government’s vaccination programme one year on that 25,950 people in Crawley have received three Covid vaccine doses, which will offer life-saving protection to them and their loved ones this winter.

“To mark Boost Day, I encourage all those who have not yet come forward to take up the offer of a vaccine – booster jabs will protect the progress we have made against the virus and ensure that we can all enjoy Christmas safely with our loved ones in the safe knowledge that we have taken the responsible steps to protect them from the virus.

“One year on, our historic vaccination programme is not over and we can all still do our bit this winter and stay ahead in the race against the virus by taking up the offer of a vaccine as soon as we are eligible”.

The latest figures show that more than 115 million vaccine doses have been administered across the UK in almost a year with nine in ten people aged 12 and over having received at least one dose of the vaccine (almost 51 million people) and eight in ten having received both vaccine doses (over 46 million people).

One in three people have now already received their booster jab – 18.6 million people – more than any other country with the exception of the United States and China.

This week, as a precaution in light of the new Omicron variant, the Government has expanded the booster programme to all adults over 18 and announced that all eligible people will be offered a top-up jab by the end of January.

To speed up the vaccination programme, around 400 military personnel will be drafted in to support deployment, with 1,500 community pharmacy sites, additional hospital hubs, and pop-up sites opening in convenient locations across the country.

The Secretary of State for Health & Social Care, Sajid Javid, commented;

“I’m incredibly proud of our phenomenal Covid-19 vaccination programme. In under a year we have administered more than 115 million doses across the UK, saving countless lives and giving us a powerful weapon to fight this devastating virus.

“The battle is not yet over and we are working around the clock to boost the booster programme even further to maximise immunity following the emergence of the Omicron variant.

“It is absolutely crucial everybody comes forward for their vaccines and booster jabs as soon as you are eligible so we can strengthen our wall of defence against Covid-19 and enjoy Christmas safely with our families and loved ones this year.”