We've been discussing booster jabs this morning, as the UK ramps up its campaign in the face of the new Omicron variant. Here's a reminder of where we are at with it.

More than 51 million people in the UK have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. And more than 19 million people have had a booster jab - or third dose - so far.

The UK and Scottish governments say all eligible adults will be offered a booster by the end of January - although some may be given at a later date.

Rather than contact the NHS for an appointment, "people should wait to be called", Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said.

Here's the order of priority in which people will be called:

Image source, Reuters

Here in the UK there's been lots of talk about what to do about Christmas parties, given the emergence of the new Omicron variant. The PM has said there's no need to cancel them, and large groups can still party at bars, nightclubs or karaoke venues.

And now Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden says his party has no plans to cancel its Christmas knees-up.

"I think [the party] is still planned, and I don't intend to cancel it as chairman of the Conservative Party," he tells BBC Breakfast.

"It will just be a normal Christmas gathering of staff that are in London - we have staff in Leeds as well - and that is completely consistent with the rules, and I would urge people to keep calm and carry on with their plans."

Dowden adds: "Of course, if the situation changes and rules need to be updated, we'll comply with the rules as they stand."

Philippa Roxby
Health reporter, BBC News

Scientists who’ve analysed the variant say they are worried by what they see in the lab.

Omicron has more mutations than any other variant and they’re different too.

This could mean it’s more infectious, causes more serious illness and is better at evading vaccines than previous variants.

But none of this is certain. It will take time for the true threat from Omicron to be assessed as cases are detected and monitored across the world.

Read more about the Omicron variant here.

BBC Breakfast

Following on from news of the UK booster study, the trial's chief investigator has told the BBC there are encouraging signs that existing booster vaccines will still offer protection against serious illness and death from the Omicron variant.

Prof Saul Faust, who led the trial at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, tells BBC Breakfast that while the UK’s vaccines have not been tested against Omicron yet, the results suggest the memory response of the body and its ability to respond to future infection “doesn’t seem to be as dependent on the variant”.

He adds that he hopes boosters will give “broad protection against multiple variants”.

Image source, PA Media

Meanwhile, British scientists studying seven different Covid vaccines have found that Pfizer and Moderna are the most effective to use as booster jabs.

The trial is the first study of how well Covid booster jabs work and justifies the UK's early decision to use these two vaccines for boosters.

All the vaccines tested raised immunity against Covid to some degree.

And researchers said there were promising signs the boosters would still protect against illness and death from the Omicron variant.

To make vaccine supplies go further, even a half dose of Pfizer could be used to boost populations, they added.

It comes as the UK steps up its booster programme - following the announcement that a booster will be offered to all adults.

BBC Breakfast

While cases are rising rapidly in the South African province where the Omicron variant was first identified, hospital admissions are not yet increasing at the same rate - according to the World Health Organization’s representative in South Africa.

In the last 24 hours, South Africa has recorded 11,500 new Covid cases – a sharp rise on the 8,500 cases recorded the previous day.

Dr Owen Kaluwa tells BBC Breakfast the majority of new cases are in the Gauteng province, which has seen a rapid increase. Other provinces have also seen increases but not at the same rate.

He says hospital admissions remain fairly low “but it’s early days” and experts will have a better idea of the impact of the variant on serious illness in the next couple of weeks.

Image source, PA Media

Here's a bit more detail on our main headline - the World Health Organization's warning that all countries should prepare for potential surges of Covid.

The WHO's regional director for the western Pacific, Dr Takeshi Kasai, says the geographic distribution of the new Omicron variant is “likely already wider than currently reported”.

But Dr Kasai adds that lessons have been learned from the spread and handing of the Delta variant.

Dr Babatunde Olowokure, WHO regional emergency director, says that blanket travel bans can only delay the entry of the variant into countries.

He says the WHO is working with a “large number” of research institutions to study Omicron, but to date they have received no information to suggest a need to change the approach to the pandemic adopted by countries so far.

The WHO says that mask wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene, crowd avoidance, contact tracing and case isolation, and vaccination all remain important.

Image source, Getty Images

Here's a quick recap of what's happening today:

• Health officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) say the number of countries reporting the detection of the new Omicron variant are “increasing daily”, and its distribution is “likely already wider than currently reported”
• They say all countries must prepare for potential new surges connected to Omicron, but that lessons learned from the spread and handing of the Delta variant still apply
• President Biden has announced plans to step up coronavirus testing in the US and tighten rules for travellers amid a series of Omicron cases. From next week, all international arrivals must get a Covid test in the 24 hours before they depart
• A UK trial finds the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines give the best overall booster response
• Two men in the southern Indian state of Karnataka have tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant - the first cases in the country
• The risk of catching and becoming very sick from Covid remains higher for people belonging to certain ethnic groups, a UK review finds
• The UK government has been accused of failing to put adequate measures in place to prevent its Covid business loan scheme falling victim to fraudsters

Welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. We'll be bringing you all the latest updates here.