The number of vaccinations administered daily in Suffolk will have to more than double if the Government's target of offering every adult a booster jab before the end of the year is to be met.

A Suffolk GP has said the "phenomenal rate of growth" of Omicron requires a "phenomenal response", and exhausted staff are said to be ready to rise to the challenge.

As of today, the Government has suspended the 15 minute wait after a vaccine to speed up the process.

Lisa Nobes, chief nurse for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, said: “Across the patch we are going full-steam ahead with the booster vaccination programme.

“In order to achieve the government’s target, locally, we need to increase the number of vaccinations we administer from 7,000 to 18,000 every day.

“Plans are already well advanced to support this. These include extending the hours of our walk-in centres to offer a seven-day a week service, including evening opening so people can best fit in a vaccination around work or family commitments.

“For those who prefer a booked appointment there are many convenient options, with vaccinations available every day of the week. We’re really pleased that from later this week our partners at Colchester and Ipswich hospitals will each have 1,000 bookable vaccination slots available every day, which can be booked via the national booking system.

“In order to support these plans we are working with the Local Resilience Forum to get the support we need and health professionals either already have or are in the process of being deployed onto the booster vaccination programme."

Dr John Havard, from Saxmundham Health Centre, said: "I think the phenomenal rate of growth of the new variant demands a phenomenal response from primary care and I feel sure we will rise to the challenge.

"Our staff are exhausted from the weekend working on top of really busy weeks but we just have to do it as we know just how significant the booster dose is.

"We plan to get all the patients boosted this month and will add evening clinics on top of weekends until the job is done."

To find the latest information about vaccines in Suffolk, visit: www.sneevaccine.org.uk which is updated daily with locations and times of walk-in clinics, as well as trusted facts on the vaccine and vaccination. The local helpline is 0344 257 3961.