Covid: Newcastle health chief warns Omicron will dominate

Newcastle's Centre for Life vaccination centre said it could cope with plans to offer them to all over-18s by the end of the month

Newcastle's director of public health expects the Omicron variant to dominate Covid cases in the city within weeks.

However, Prof Eugene Milne said there had been no overall increase in case numbers despite instances of the variant being identified.

It comes as figures show Newcastle has the lowest percentage of people vaccinated in the region.

A quarter of residents have had no jab at all, with only two thirds having had a second jab and 30% given a booster.

Prof Milne said the number of Omicron cases identified through genomic testing was "very low" but other indicators of the variant's presence had been "very rapidly" increasing.

"I think we'll start to see them dominate within a really quite short space of time," he said.

Booster appointment bookings have surged

Prof Milne also said Newcastle's vaccination figures were on par with equivalent cities and it had sufficient capacity to deliver the number of vaccines needed.

"I think the bigger problem is going to be having them in the right place at the right time," he said.

People were still coming for their initial dose and it was hoped the push to give out booster shots would also encourage more to come forward for their first, he added.

People faced long waits booking their appointments on Monday which Prof Milne put down to a surge in demand following the prime minister's statement on Sunday encouraging people to have a booster.

People have been advised to book an appointment in advance

Newcastle's Centre for Life vaccination centre said it could cope with plans to offer them to all over-18s by the end of the month.

It said it was "always something we've expected".

The number of daily vaccinations in the region must double, from 61,000 to more than 130,000, if the target is to be reached.

Vaccine centre opening hours are to be extended and pop-up clinics set up to increase capacity.

British Medical Association regional chairman and GP George Rae said a booster would raise protection for those who had their second dose six months ago from about 30-40% to 70-75%.