Lowestoft woman, 94, faced two-month wait for booster jab

Ruth Smith, 94, has been trying to get a booster jab since 30 September

A 94-year-old woman has told how she was left feeling "very worried" after facing a two-month wait for a Covid booster jab.

Ruth Smith, of Oulton Broad, Suffolk, was told the NHS system had no record of her, despite having had two jabs.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get the jabs after cases of the Omicron strain were found.

After being contacted by the BBC, a health trust said a home visit was planned and would take place later.

"It's now nine months [since my last jab]," said Mrs Smith. "They say it starts waning after six months so now I am getting very worried."

Her family said they had tried several times since 30 September to book an appointment, first online, and then using the Test and Trace 119 phone service.

Each time they were told Mrs Smith "was not recognised by the system" but would be called back within five days.

• Booster offer for England adults by end of January

On 22 November, after her GP surgery informed her they were not administering boosters, Mrs Smith tried 119 again.

This time she was informed someone would get back to her by 20 December.

"How long do I have to go on ringing to get somebody to deal with me?" she said.

"And now I keep watching on television that Mr Johnson is going to have everybody jabbed by January. Well he's missed Ruth Smith somewhere."

Vivien Lahan with her mother Ruth Smith, 94, who cannot understand why she has not been recognised as qualifying for a booster

The former NHS secretary was taken for her first two vaccinations to the James Paget Hospital, in Gorleston, Norfolk, by her daughter Vivien Lahan.

Mrs Lahan said it would have been pointless going to a walk-in centre, where her mother would have to queue in the cold, and where they might be refused.

"It's not good enough, she's a vulnerable old person and needs to get it," she said.

The family were all hoping to be together for Christmas and said the thought of her mother not being with them was "devastating".

"This could be mum's last Christmas, I hope its not as mum's in good health but who knows what's round the corner?" she said.

The Norfolk and Waveney NHS Clinical Commissioning Group told the BBC: "A home visit to give this patient the booster vaccine has been planned for some time and is due to take place [on Friday]."

It added planned home visits "are difficult to confirm until nearer the time".

The family said they were unaware the visit had been planned until late on Thursday.