Covid booster jabs need to be sped up or medical units could become swamped this winter

The uptake of Covid booster jabs may be too slow to prevent hospitals from becoming overcrowded this winter, experts have warned as cases soar by 30 per cent. 

One month into the booster programme, only half of eligible over-80s have received a third dose, despite being at heightened risk, NHS figures suggest. 

Of the 2.2 million who had a second jab more than six months ago, fewer than 1.2 million have had the booster.

The number of people aged 65 to 84 admitted to hospital has risen 19 per cent in the past week, with admissions up 8 per cent among people over 85. 

Yesterday the UK reported 45,140 cases of coronavirus and 57 deaths within 28 days of a positive test – the highest total since July – but deaths plummeted by nearly two-thirds from 148 to 57 in the space of a week. 

It comes after testing operations at Immensa Health Clinic Ltd’s laboratory in Wolverhampton were suspended because of faulty tests. 

Health officials have revealed that 43,000 people in south west England – where cases are now skyrocketing – may have been wrongly told they don’t have the coronavirus because of problems at a private laboratory.

The Health Security Agency said a lab in Wolverhampton was suspended from processing the swabs after reports of false negatives. The faulty results are among tests processed at the Immensa Health Clinic Lab between early September and this week.

The issue was uncovered after some people who were positive for COVID-19 when they took rapid tests went on to show up as negative on more accurate PCR tests.

One local authority, West Berkshire Council, has told people who were tested at the government-run Newbury Showground site between October 3 and 12 and were told they were negative to get tested again.

Britain conducts about 1 million coronavirus tests a day and reported almost 40,000 new infections a day over the past week.

Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of UKHSA, said it was likely only a few thousand of the 43,000 affected were still infectious.

She added that it was ‘not clear yet’ what went wrong in the private laboratory, adding that it was ‘accredited to all of the appropriate standards’.

NHS Test and Trace estimates that around 400,000 samples have been processed through the lab, but new samples are now being redirected to other labs.

Test and Trace is contacting people who could still be infectious to advise them to take another test, while close contacts who are symptomatic will also be advised to take a test, as is already recommended.

Boosters have become a key part of the Government’s winter plan, along with the vaccination of children aged 12 to 15.

Data from the Zoe Covid study shows the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine at stopping severe illness falls from 74 per to 67 per cent after six months.

Azeem Majeed, professor of primary care at Imperial College London, said it was inevitable people would lose some enthusiasm for the jabs, telling the Sunday Times: ‘There was always going to be a drop-off between doses. It’s likely that some people who got a second dose won’t get a third. They’re just not interested.

‘People were initially told that two doses were enough. They were in lockdown, and the vaccine was their ticket out of it. Now there’s much less incentive.’

Duncan Robertson, of Warwick University, said delays in administering the jabs will have to be ‘resolved immediately’ to avoid unnecessary pressures on the NHS.

‘Booster vaccinations are there to prevent hospitalisations and ultimately to save lives,’ he said. ‘Delays matter.’ In England, about 25 million people over 50 and vulnerable adults will be eligible for boosters by the end of winter.

However, at the present rate of 175,000 a day, some in their early 50s may not have boosters until mid-February – about eight months after most were double-jabbed.

Those eligible are urged to book an appointment online or by phoning 119.