One million jabs a day to battle Covid 'tidal wave'

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( December 13, 2021 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [All adults to be offered Covid booster jab by end of year as rollout accelerated]( All adults in England will be offered a booster jab by the end of the year, Boris Johnson has announced in what is a sharp acceleration of the vaccination programme. In a televised address on Sunday night the prime minister warned the UK was “facing an emergency in our battle with the new variant, omicron”. The PM said he was launching a “national mission” to get everyone jabbed, stating: “No one should be in any doubt: there is a tidal wave of omicron coming.” 2 / [Petra Srncova: Body found in south London park as police search for missing nurse]( Children’s hospital nursing assistant has been missing for more than two weeks 3 / [Blood supplies could soon become ‘critical,’ NHS warns]( Exclusive: NHS calls for blood donations over risk supplies could drop to ‘critical’ levels over winter 4 / [Verstappen crowned F1 world champion after Mercedes protest dismissed]( Mercedes protested after a wild last lap in Abu Dhabi saw Verstappen pass Lewis Hamilton for the race win and the title 5 / [Two cargo ships collide in Baltic Sea off Sweden’s south coast]( One of the ships is believed to be floating upside down, according to the administration The Big Question What would ‘Plan C’ Covid restrictions entail? As concerns over the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus continue to grow, the government has indicated it is willing to introduce even tougher social restrictions should the situation worsen and they become necessary. Tighter rules are currently being drawn up by Whitehall officials - and dubbed “Plan C” - and could include a three-visitor limit in care homes and the use of vaccine passports for smaller venues such as pubs, according to reports. Here’s everything we know so far. [Read the full story >]( Watch / [Boris Johnson tells public to 'get boosted to protect way of life']( NUMBER OF THE DAY 2 million Hospitals are again under increasing pressure, with an average of 2 million patients attending A&E each month between September to November, compared to 1.5 million last year during the same period QUOTE OF THE DAY “It urgently needs to be resolved. Look at animals trapped in cages in a zoo. It cuts their life short. That’s what’s happening to Julian. The never-ending court cases are extremely stressful mentally.” – Julian Assange’s fiancée Stella Moris has said that he has suffered a stroke in prison due to the “constant chess game” and “battle after battle” over his future. Other stories you might like [Labour demands Boris Johnson answer questions in Commons over Christmas lockdown ‘rule-breaking’]( [PM now a hindrance in North Shropshire by-election, Tories say]( [South African president Cyril Ramaphosa tests positive for Covid]( Articles available exclusively to subscribers Sippi Azarbaijani Moghaddam[,]( The Independent: ["What I know about the Taliban"]( CORRECTION: Due to a technical error, some readers received a newsletter inaccurately stating that the number of nurses and doctors working in the intensive care unit at a Spanish hospital who tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a Christmas party was 437. The correct number was 68, as stated in the newsletter sent on 7 December. The number 437 related to Covid omicron infections which had been detected in the UK as of 7 December. We apologise for this error. If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.