Tens of thousands of volunteers and medical staff are being recruited to help the UK’s coronavirus vaccination campaign reach people who are unvaccinated.
On the first anniversary of the first UK Covid vaccine jab, royalty, celebrities and medics are all joining drives to persuade vaccine holdouts that the time has come.
One such person, Toyin Oladotun, said she overcame her worries about the vaccine months after Margaret Keenan, 91, was given the first Pfizer vaccine in Coventry, central England.
Across Britain, there is about 6.4 million people unvaccinated, or about 10 per cent of the eligible population.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, spoke of the dangers of being unvaccinated.
“To all those who have not yet had the vaccine or are hesitating before getting a booster, we can only urge you to look at the evidence in our intensive care wards and listen to those who work there,” they said.
"People who are unvaccinated are at least 10 times more likely to be hospitalised or die than those who have had two vaccine doses.”
On Tuesday, the National Health Service (NHS) began a hunt for volunteers and staff to join the vaccination campaign.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, said: "One year ago today, the NHS made history when Maggie Keenan was the first person to receive a Pfizer vaccination outside a clinical trial.
"Maggie's jab marked the launch of the world's first national vaccination programme – watched around the globe it was a moment of hope after months of fear.
Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
"Since that point, the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest and fastest in our history, has delivered almost 100 million jabs, protecting tens of millions of us against the virus.
"The roll-out would not have been as successful as it has been without the help of thousands of volunteers who have given over one million hours to deliver vaccines and help us save thousands of lives," Ms Pritchard said.
"Now the NHS is ramping up its vaccine drive once again as millions more become eligible for their booster, sooner, following updated guidance, and so we are now recruiting 10,000 more staff to help us in our national mission.”
Mrs Keenan urged people to get a vaccination.
The 91-year-old said: “The best Christmas present I could have is being in good health and having had the jab and feeling free from this horrible virus.”
The grandmother, who has also had her booster and flu jabs, described being a global name as “wonderful”.
The jobs include vaccinators, administration staff and healthcare support workers. The NHS is also working with the Royal Voluntary Service and St John, to drum up the support of more than 42,000 volunteers.
In the last 12 months, more than 51 million first vaccine doses of have been given in the UK, along with more than 46 million second doses and 20 million extra doses.
Almost 3,000 vaccine sites have been established across the country, staffed by more than 92,000 NHS staff and 118,000 volunteers.
Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the health service would offer booster shots to adults in England before the end of January in response to the new threat from the Omicron variant.
One of the UK’s most senior doctors said there had been a "fairly constant" stream of about 6,000 patients in hospitals across England since the summer.
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
If more people had vaccinations that figure would fall and free up time for the NHS to make inroads into the backlog of care, according to Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS national medical director for England.
"There's no doubt that the NHS is under intense pressure – those are 6,000 patients that we wouldn't normally have at this time of year,” Prof Powis said.
"And, of course, we have additional beds closed because of the strict infection control measures that we quite rightly have to put in place in our hospitals.
"So it feels very busy. And it's very busy in the NHS. And there's a possibility that other infections such as flu might start to circulate more," he said.
"So what's really important is that you get that jab because the way the public can help us to reduce those numbers in hospital is to make sure that you have your first or second dose and, of course, that all-important booster, which recent data has shown is highly effective against preventing severe disease."
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
New schools in Dubai
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
UAE SQUAD
Ahmed Raza (Captain), Rohan Mustafa, Jonathan Figy, CP Rizwan, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Usman, Basil Hameed, Zawar Farid, Vriitya Aravind (WK), Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Zahoor Khan, Darius D'Silva, Chirag Suri
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
SQUADS
South Africa:
Faf du Plessis (capt), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock (wkt), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Dane Paterson, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada
Coach: Ottis Gibson
Bangladesh:
Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), Imrul Kayes, Liton Das (wkt), Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan, Mohammad Saifuddin, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim (wkt), Mustafizur Rahman, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Tamim Iqbal, Taskin Ahmed.
Coach: Chandika Hathurusingha
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: seven-speed auto
Power: 420 bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: from Dh293,200
On sale: now
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
57%20Seconds
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Total eligible population
About 57.5 million people
51.1 million received a jab
6.4 million have not
Where are the unvaccinated?
England 11%
Scotland 9%
Wales 10%
Northern Ireland 14%
