Coronavirus: will Boris Johnson’s 24/7 vaccine rollout work?
Government ministers voice doubts about plan to speed up mass immunisation programme

Vaccination centres across England will offer a round-the-clock service under new plans by Boris Johnson to speed up the rollout of Covid-19 jabs.
The prime minister promised yesterday that “we will be going to 24/7 as soon as we can” - but “said supply was the limiting factor at the moment”, the BBC reports. The NHS had just over a million doses available last week, but that supply has depleted quickly.
Speaking at Prime Minister’s Questions, Johnson said that the more than 200 hospitals and 1,000 GP-led NHS vaccination sites now offering the Covid jabs were already “going exceptionally fast”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But with the total UK tally of Covid-related deaths passing the 100,000 mark on Wednesday, the pressure is on for the PM to deliver an even quicker rollout.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has welcomed the planned 24/7 service, adding: “The sooner the better for our NHS and for our economy.”
According to a government source, the round-the-clock vaccines service is “likely to be limited initially to healthcare workers” before being widened out to the rest of the population, says The Times.
But some ministers have questioned the wisdom and practicality of the plan. Nadhim Zahawi, who is overseeing England’s vaccine rollout, told the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee yesterday that rather than offering a 24-hour service, the government should concentrate on inoculating the most vulnerable.
Meanwhile, Tory peer Lord James Bethell told the House of Lords that “even NHS workers do have to sleep. It is impossible to run operations through the night on a mass scale.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also raised questions about the demand for 24/7 services, telling BBC Breakfast yesterday that while the NHS was “up for” the challenge, most people wanted to be vaccinated during the day.
However and whenever the jabs are delivered, supply problems are continuing to hobble to government pledge to inoculate a total of at least 13 million people against Covid by mid-February.
Latest government data shows that the number of people in the UK to have been given a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine was 2,639,309 as of yesterday, up by 207,661 from Tuesday.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude. He was a columnist for The Big Issue and landed a world exclusive with David Beckham that became the weekly magazine’s bestselling issue. He now writes regularly for The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Independent, Metro, FourFourTwo and the i new site. He is also the author of a number of non-fiction books.
-
5 triple threat cartoons about Trump's third term
Cartoons Artists take on the 22nd Amendment, Barack Obama, and more
By The Week US Published
-
School disputes: a police matter?
Talking Point Cowley Hill lodged a police complaint against parents who criticised its recruiting process for a new head
By The Week UK Published
-
The Subantarctic: wild islands far south of New Zealand
The Week Recommends Far from the usual tourist crowd, these remote islands showcase stunning wilderness and amazing animals
By The Week UK Published
-
'There is a certain kind of strength in refusing to concede error'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
'A political agenda aimed at reshaping higher education into an ideological stronghold'
instant opinion 'Opinion, comment and editorials of the day'
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
'Most Americans have never heard of the Office of Net Assessment'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Trump pulls nomination of anti-vax CDC pick
Speed Read Former Florida congressmen Dr. Dave Weldon was nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Has Starmer put Britain back on the world stage?
Talking Point UK takes leading role in Europe on Ukraine and Starmer praised as credible 'bridge' with the US under Trump
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Measles: Kennedy’s big disease test
Feature Texas reports over 120 measles cases, the highest in 30 years
By The Week US Published
-
'Failure to vaccinate against these diseases is dangerous to your child'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
'What Americans really need is access to safer products'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published