Redbridge Town Hall was the country's busiest vaccination site on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, delivering a record 904 Covid vaccination jabs on December 25 and 817 a day later.

The drive to deliver vaccinations and booster jabs ramped up as variant of concern Omicron spread rapidly across the UK.

In Ilford the number of Covid cases rose from 268 on December 9 to 851 on December 20.

GP Dr Seedat and vaccination lead at Redbridge Town Hall, said: “I am delighted that at Redbridge Town Hall we saw the highest number of people in the country come forward for their jab over Christmas and Boxing Day, protecting themselves and their loved ones against Covid, and credit goes to the whole team, especially those working behind the scenes, who gave up their time to make London safer.

"I urge any Londoner who is eligible but yet to come forward for their first, second or booster jab to join those getting vaccinated - book or walk-in to any of the many vaccinations sites across the city today.”

The UK Health Security Agency said earlier this month (December 10) that booster shots significantly restore protection against Omicron.

London overall saw 54,307 doses given over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, including 3,478 first doses and 47,015 booster jabs.

Across the country, NHS staff reported hundreds of thousands of "jingle jab" vaccinations over the festive period, including 12,000 on Christmas Day, along with more than 10,000 top-up doses, and 24,078 on Boxing Day, including 20,278 boosters.

The total number of vaccinations over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day was 214,108.

Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid vaccination programme, said: "I want to say a huge thank you to all the staff and volunteers who gave up time with their families over Christmas to protect others."

Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The enthusiasm the country has shown for our Covid-19 vaccines has been tremendous, particularly the 214,000 who have gone out of their way this holiday weekend to get their jab and secure protection from the omicron variant."

To book a vaccination visit www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-vaccination/book-coronavirus-vaccination/