Covid booster jabs, lateral flow tests and appointments for PCR tests all faced limited availability in the northeast two days after Boris Johnson’s speech to the nation.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement that he was speeding up the program to roll out booster injections, queues formed outside vaccination sites for a second day.
Some people eligible for their booster injection also said they were unable to make an appointment, although the rollout was extended to all eligible adults aged 18 and over from Wednesday.
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At the Willington Quay Pharmacy in North Tyneside, people could be seen lining up outside the pharmacy throughout the day as staff scrambled to meet the government’s new target of getting all eligible adults vaccinated from here December 31.
(Image: Craig Connor / ChronicleLive)
And for the second day in a row, the lateral flow tests were not available to order through the government website, although it was understood that a number were available in the early hours of the morning.
A post on the site today said there were no tests available for home delivery, although the tests can still be collected from pharmacies.
It comes as new Covid rules have come into force for testing close contacts for the coronavirus.
People with a double bite are now advised to have a lateral flow test every day for seven days if they come in contact with someone with Covid-19.
On Monday, the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) said that “due to unusually high demand, the ordering of lateral flow tests on gov.uk has been temporarily suspended to meet existing orders.”
The ministers insisted that there was no supply problem, but rather there were constraints on the test delivery system, as they encouraged people to procure test kits. test at their local pharmacies.
However, many people have reported that their local pharmacy is out of stock.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab insisted that the problem with ordering sidestream tests on the government website was not due to a lack of testing.
He told BBC Breakfast: “The problem is not supply and volume, the problem is allocation and distribution, or delivery, of it.
“We know that as far as the online system goes, there were some challenges yesterday and that’s partly because of the proportion they have every day.
“We make sure that no matter how people want to order and buy them, we’re not only increasing the capacity… but the ability to distribute and deliver. “
In parts of England, people with symptoms of coronavirus were also unable to book PCR testing slots at walk-in sites or by car.
Briefly on Tuesday morning, the government website said there were no slots available for PCR testing at walk-in and drive-through testing sites in all parts of England.
It was then updated to show that slots were available in all regions, although there were “none available” at Hartlepool in the North East and Sedgemoor in the South West of the England.
PCR test kits that are mailed to people’s homes, usually arriving the next day, are available.
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