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Here’s how people reacted to Boris Johnson’s booster jab plan to deal with the omicron variant

Here’s how people reacted to Boris Johnson’s booster jab plan to deal with the omicron variant

Boris Johnson has announced that everyone over the age of 18 will be offered booster jabs by the end of the year to curb the spread of omicron.

In a pre-recorded broadcast to the nation last night at 8pm, the PM moved the target for those who have received their second jabs at least three months ago forward from the end of January as he warned that “a tidal wave of omicron” was coming and that two jabs would not be enough to sufficiently protect people from the virus.

Some medical appointments may be postponed to focus on boosters, and the army is being used to boost the booster campaign too, he said.

“I’m afraid we’re now facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant omicron,” he said.

“It is now clear that two doses of vaccine are simply not enough to give the level of protection we all need. But the good news is that our scientists are confident that with a third dose, a booster dose, we can all bring our level of protection back up.”

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He added: “At this point our scientists cannot say that omicron is less severe.

“And even if that proved to be true, we already know it is so much more transmissible that a wave of omicron through a population that was not boosted would risk a level of hospitalisation that could overwhelm our NHS and lead sadly to very many deaths.”

Reacting to his speech, some people were just angry about the alleged Christmas parties that are said to have taken place last year while the country faced severe restrictions, and saw it as a distraction:

They questioned why it was pre-recorded with no questions from journalists and suspected he was dodging scrutiny:

Others joked that he was hosting a Zoom quiz for the nation, in light of the latest Downing Street party allegation:

Doctors, NHS staff and other experts in the healthcare field worried that his target is too ambitious and wishes he had given them advance notice:

Others noted that the advice to get booster jabs was good to curb the spread of the omicron variant.

Of course, people were also divided about whether or not the government should be concerned about the variant and whether it was worth enforcing more restrictions to deal with it.

Some people were disappointed that the speech wasn’t his resignation, and others joked it could really have been an email instead.

The PM clearly continues to be a marmite figure in politics.

omicronbooster jabcoronavirus vaccinesboris johnson
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