The NHS said more than 110,000 people had booked their booster jab before 9am this morning - and the website was already seeing record demand for bookings as the vaccination programme ramp up. By 1pm, people could start to book their jabs.
Moments later while people were waiting, a message was displayed that the website was 'currently experiencing technical difficulties', and those trying to book a jab had to go back one webpage and try again.īy 10am, the size of the online queue was nearing 10,000 people but the website was still not allowing people to book their appointment as it came under intense demand. Then again this morning, the NHS website was initially putting people in an online queue of more than 5,000 people shortly after 7am, saying that 'lots of people are trying to book an appointment.' Within minutes of his announcement, the NHS website crashed as thousands flocked to secure appointments. Mr Johnson said the 'Omicron emergency' meant boosters were vital to 'protect our freedoms and our way of life'. The Army will be drafted in and clinic hours extended to help dose 18million people by January 1 - nearly a million a day - as the PM warned of a 'tidal wave' of Covid that could overwhelm the NHS and cause 'very many deaths'. It comes after the Prime Minister confirmed in a televised statement last night that he had turbocharged the booster programme, as the deadline to offer all adults a third jab is being brought forward by a month. Meanwhile long lines of people waited outside pharmacies, hospitals and temporary vaccine sites across the UK this morning, with particularly big queues seen at St Thomas' Hospital and Guy's Hospital in London. The booster expansion plan is expected to focus on walk-ins rather than online bookings – and those trying to get an appointment on the website face having to wait until after Christmas, insiders told Politico's London Playbook. Just had a look at my closest walk in centre which is 15 miles away apparently.' I finally got through, clicked yes to knowing my NHS number and it put me back to 8,000th in the queue. I've been over 6,500th in the queue twice. Merry Christmas, enjoy your party!'Īnd a third tweeted: 'Just tried booking my booster jab. Other Britons were struggling to get a booster appointment near their home, with one tweeting that 'York's nearest Covid jab walk-in is 31 miles away in Doncaster' - a claim that has been verified by MailOnline.Īnother said: 'Well done Boris Johnson, everyone is panicking now and trying to book their booster jab and the website says I am in a queue and the nearest walk in centre is 20 miles away. For all others experiencing waits, we would advise trying again later today or tomorrow.' For users aged 18 to 29, please be aware that booking opens on Wednesday 15 December. Thank you for your patience.'Īnd the NHS later said in a tweet: 'The COVID vaccine booking service is currently facing extremely high demand so is operating a queueing system. Those trying to book a jab appointment on the website were greeting with a message saying: 'The NHS website is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Those aged 30 or over are now eligible to book their vaccine online via the NHS website, while people aged 18 to 29 can book there from Wednesday – but all UK adults can now go to a walk-in centre from today. Hundreds of thousands of people were rushing to get their third dose less than two weeks before Christmas, just hours after Boris Johnson revealed that the booster programme would open up to all UK adults from today. Two weeks later, a Goodyear blimp dropped a stack of newspapers on the roof a part of a publicity stunt, but the airship plan was abandoned shortly thereafter.NHS bosses today urged Britons desperate to get their Covid-19 booster jab to try again tomorrow after the website crashed again this morning and huge queues built up outside vaccination centres around the country. The closest thing to a “landing” came in September 1931, when a small dirigible tethered itself to the spire for a few minutes. Despite early enthusiasm for the project, the high winds near the building’s rooftop proved all but impossible for pilots to negotiate. Passengers would then exit via an open-air gangplank, check in at a customs office and make their way to the streets of Manhattan in a mere seven minutes. The harebrained scheme called for the airships to maneuver alongside the building and tether themselves to a winching apparatus. Convinced that transatlantic airship travel was the wave of the future, the building’s owners originally constructed the mast as a docking port for lighter-than-air dirigibles.
#Reveal spire keeps crashing archive
(Credit: New York Daily News Archive / Contributor)īy far the most unusual aspect of the Empire State Building’s design concerned its 200-foot tower.