Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
About 132 million coronavirus shots were given last year amid the largest vaccine campaign in British history.
More than 90 per cent of people in the UK over the age of 12 have now had their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 82.4 per cent have had their second.
The emergence of the Omicron variant pushed authorities to expand vaccination efforts over the festive season and more than 1.6 million people received their booster dose in the final week of 2021.
This brought the total UK number of boosted adults to 34 million, including three in four eligible adults in England.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid thanked NHS staff and tens of thousands of volunteers for the success of the programme since December 2020, and urged more people to get their booster in the new year.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has been one of the biggest challenges our health service has ever faced and our historic vaccination programme has been vital in helping us step up to meet this challenge,” he said.
Mr Javid added that “132 million vaccinations in a single year is astounding and a true reflection of the fantastic work of our NHS and its volunteers” and said: “I want to thank each and every one of them.
“But we need to make sure people continue to come forward for their life-saving jab.
“As we go into the New Year, make sure you ‘Get Boosted Now’ to kick off 2022 with the best possible protection from Omicron.”
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A locked gate blocks access to a bar area in Berlin. Germany's government has put a lid on New Year celebrations, with nightclubs slated to close from December 28 onwards. AFP -
A jogger runs past the Covid-19 Memorial Wall in London. EPA -
People receive the Moderna booster at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium. Many are flocking to receive their booster shots amid surging Omicron infections. AP -
People wearing face masks pose for a photo outside a coffee shop with Christmas-themed decorations in Athens, Greece. AP -
A woman tapes the word "Omicron" to a handmade effigy depicting the Omicron coronavirus variant in Managua. The effigies will be burnt at midnight on December 31 as a tradition of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new. AFP -
Delivery workers of South Korea's leading logistics company CJ Logistics Corporation protest in the capital Seoul over working conditions. EPA -
Shoppers hunt for bargains in Tokyo as people prepare for the New Year celebrations. Authorities in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have announced free PCR tests to reduce infection risk especially during the holidays in Japan. EPA -
Travellers at the international airport in Samut Prakan, Thailand. Authorities have suspended quarantine-free entry to the country for all passengers, to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. EPA -
People queue for Covid-19 status checks before entering the Egyptian Museum, in Turin, northern Italy. EPA -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test at a pop-up testing site as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York. Reuters -
Workers check the body temperatures of pupils arriving for Year 12 examinations at a school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA -
Thousands of people on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 26. Brazil's beaches are crowded with the arrival of summer despite the worldwide spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Authorities will hold a New Year's Eve party on the Copacabana shore. Getty Images -
People gather during a demonstration of the cultural sector against the closure of venues under new rules put into place against Covid-19, in Brussels, Belgium. EPA -
Shoppers during Boxing Day sales in Glasgow. New restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Getty Images -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test in Times Square as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in New York City. Reuters -
Hospital workers gather for a selfie in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the La Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France. One of the country’s largest hospitals, La Timone has weathered wave after wave of coronavirus. AP -
Cricket fans arrive on the first day of the third Ashes Test between Australia and England in Melbourne, Australia. EPA -
A screen at the San Francisco International Airport shows cancelled United Airlines flights to Chicago O'Hare and Cleveland on Christmas Eve. EPA -
Travellers wait for trains on the eve of Christmas, at Euston Station in London. EPA -
Pastries named "virus" and "vaccine" on display in the window of a cafe and pastry shop in Prague, Czech Republic. Countries in central Europe are preparing for what many fear will be a fifth wave of the coronavirus brought on by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Getty Images -
People wait to receive vaccine doses at a shopping centre in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. EPA -
People rush to receive Covid-19 testing kits from city workers in the Brooklyn area of New York. The city is handing out thousands of the kits, which include two tests per box, as part of efforts to reduce the surge of people in long lines at testing sites. AFP -
People queue on Christmas Day for booster shots in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EPA -
Newly elected President Gabriel Boric receives the third booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine in Santiago, Chile. Getty Images
Prime Minister Boris Johnson set the target of offering all eligible adults the chance to get their top-up shots by the end of January, but following the emergence of Omicron he brought forward the deadline to the start of the year.
Millions of Britons queued at about 3,000 vaccination centres. On December 18, NHS England administered a record 830,000 shots in a single day.
The acceleration of the programme was supported by 750 armed forces workers, and the government suspended the 15-minute observation period following Pfizer and Moderna boosters for most patients.
Vaccines minister Maggie Throup urged more adults to come forward in the new year, and described the distribution of doses as a source of national pride.
“The UK Covid-19 vaccination programme is something we can all be proud of – having provided tens of millions of people with protection from this deadly virus over the past year,” said Ms Throup.
Recent UK Health Security Agency data shows people who are unvaccinated are up to eight times more likely to be admitted to hospital than those who are fully vaccinated.
Coronavirus cases are continuing to rise across the world, and one in 25 people in England had the virus last week, according to ONS data. This figure increases to one in 15 in London.
