Hundreds of vaccine supporters will take to the streets of Brighton and other places in England where take-up rates are low for the covid-19 booster jab.
Almost 900 people will hand out leaflets in popular spots such as the Palace Pier, in Brighton, as well as Liverpool One and King’s Cross, in London, every day until Christmas on behalf of the NHS.
They hope to spread awareness about the new omicron coronavirus variant and to encourage every adult in Britain to have their vaccine booster injection before Christmas.
An additional £22.5 million has also been provided by the government to promote vaccination in the 60 council areas with the lowest vaccine uptake.
Brighton and Hove is one of them.
The Community Vaccines Champion scheme will run information events across those areas and create pop-up vaccination centres in places of worship.
Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said that the government was doing everything in its power to “get jabs in arms”.
He said: “We are in a race between the virus and vaccine – and we are doing everything in our power to get jabs in arms as quickly as possible.
“We are calling on people to get boosted now as part of our national mission to reinforce our wall of defence against the rapid spread of omicron.
“I want to thank the thousands of people who have heroically stepped up to support our vaccine drive. We’re all in this together. Please play your part.”
The vaccine push comes as NHS England recorded record booster numbers, with 740,775 jabs on Friday (17 December) and 739,867 on Thursday.
